


All in this Together

by JoMouse



Series: Christmas at the Coffee Shop [3]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Don't copy to another site, Established Relationship, Found Family, Kid Fic, M/M, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:01:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21853378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMouse/pseuds/JoMouse
Summary: For two years, the Christmas Tree has been bringing Zayn and Liam's family and friends closer together. This year is no exception.
Relationships: Zayn Malik/Liam Payne
Series: Christmas at the Coffee Shop [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1219940
Comments: 37
Kudos: 33





	1. Wednesday - December 18th

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings!!!!
> 
> Here we are for year three of the Christmas at the Coffee Shop series!
> 
> Unlike the previous years, the story is actually completed before I start posting (thanks to NaNo). Like previous years, some chapters are short and some are long, but one will be posted every day up to and including Christmas. There will be a little bit of angst and a whole lot of fluffy. There will be mysteries and fun.
> 
> And of course, the happiest of endings!
> 
> Biggest thanks to my beta [Marie](http://quietzap.tumblr.com) and cheerleader Jenn, without whom I would've passed over this year's instalment.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it.
> 
> xx-Joey
> 
> Don't know 'em. Don't own 'em. Don't show 'em.

Zayn stood in front of the Christmas Tree, standing on his toes to put the golden star on the top branch. He looked over his shoulder to see Harry working his magic at the espresso machine while simultaneously flirting with his boyfriend Louis who was helping out for the day by taking orders. He leaned around the tree and looked down to see Arthur, his fiancé's eleven-year-old son, carefully arranging tinsel on the ends of branches, muttering to himself as he did. Smiling, he stepped away from the tree and grabbed the box that had held the decorations to put away in the storeroom.

He sighed as he saw the stack of presents against the wall; people had been dropping them off for over a week and there hadn't been a tree to stack them underneath. Normally, Zayn put the tree up on December First but a fire in early November had closed the shop until a couple of weeks earlier and he had only gotten the shop back up to normal speed the day before and had time to put the tree up that day. He came out of the storeroom to see Arthur walking toward the tree with a stack of presents balanced precariously in his arms.

Hurrying, he made it to Arthur's side just in time to catch a small box that tipped off the top of the stack, saving it from smashing against the floor. He had a moment of deja vu from a couple of years earlier when his life had changed when he rescued a present for Arthur. "Thanks,  _ Baba _ !" the boy shouted and Zayn's heart warmed as it did every time that Arthur called him that even after nearly a year.

The bells over the door jingled and Zayn turned to see the man he'd been thinking about all day since he'd left him sleeping in their shared bed that morning. " _ Jaan, _ " he called out, his smile growing as Liam looked up and hurried over to him. Zayn opened his arms and took half the load of gloves, hats and scarves that he was carrying from him and helped to take them over to the tree. 

"Son, the winter wear is here," Liam called, laughing when Arthur turned around and tackled him around the waist, grabbing a scarf and draping it on the tree before reaching for the next item to hang on the tree. Once Liam's arms were empty, he turned and pulled Zayn into his arms, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "It's beginning to really feel like Christmas."

"Just in time," Zayn agreed, nuzzling into Liam. No matter how many times he was in Liam’s arms, it was always magical and never enough. 

The Christmas tree had been a part of the coffee shop since the first year he'd opened. Patrons of the shop would leave gifts on and around the tree anonymously for people. The winter items hanging on the tree were for anyone who forgot theirs at home or couldn't afford them. The gifts underneath varied from being for specific people or labelled with an age range and gender so that anyone who was in need could take them. Two years earlier, thanks to Harry, Zayn had left a drawing of Liam and Arthur that had started eight days of exchanging gifts and getting to know each other and as an added bonus, falling in love. The previous year, Arthur and all of their friends had worked together to give gifts to Zayn and Liam for the eight days leading up to Christmas and a proposal from Arthur for his dad and  _ Baba _ to get married. That proposal was accompanied by Zayn and Liam proposing each other as well. He smiled at the memory, running his thumb over the ring on his finger.

A year later and the wedding planning was getting overwhelming but he couldn't wait to become Mr. Zayn Malik-Payne and watching Liam play with the ring on his finger, he knew that his fiancé felt the same way. They leaned into each other watching Arthur continue to move presents under the tree, sharing a smile when he picked up one and came running over to them, tripping because the gift was large enough that he had to stretch his arms out completely to hold it. 

"This says it's for us!" Arthur squealed. Zayn got up to help him move the present over to where he and Liam had been sitting while Liam walked over to the counter to get some more coffee, a tiny smirk on his face as he went. Zayn shook his head fondly and winked at him before turning his attention back to Arthur who was reading over the large tag that listed Zayn, Liam, Arthur and all of their friends' names on it. 

"Mr Harry! Mr. Louis!" he shouted and the two behind the counter came over to look as the bells over the door rang again followed by two barks and childish giggles announcing the arrival of Stacey and her children plus their dog and Olivia, Arthur's dog, who had gone to the dog park with them while Arthur helped put up the tree.

"Did we miss something?" Stacey asked, unwrapping the scarf from around her neck and greeting Liam and Zayn with kisses to the cheeks while Gwen and Gavin undid the dog's leashes letting them run loose through the shop, the both of them disappearing through the doggie door into the back so they could get to their food dishes.

"We got a gift!” 

“We did?” Stacey asked, coming over to look at the tag, smiling as Arthur bounced on his toes. “Are we going to open it?”

Arthur bit into his lip as he looked between the gift and Stacey. “Grandma and Grandpa aren't here," he said. "Neither are Lucas and Kelly.” He looked at the tag. “Or Uncle Niall and Bressie. Do you really think it will be alright to open it?" he asked, looking at Zayn.

"I'm sure it will be," Zayn said, smiling. He glanced around the room at who was present and an idea occurred to him. “We have a quorum.”

“A what-um?” Arthur asked. “Is that like that one animal with the funny face that smiles a lot.”

Zayn chuckled. “Not a quokka. A quorum. It’s the least amount of people in a group that are required for a vote. Usually just over half.”

Arthur looked thoughtful and started counting on his fingers a smile growing on his face as the numbers added up to what he needed. "You can take a photo when you're done and send it to the group chat," Zayn suggested. Six months earlier when there had been a mix-up with babysitting for Stacey's kids, Gwen and Gavin, Zayn had helped her set up a group chat with everyone they knew to keep in touch. More often than not it was used to share memes, but everyone seemed to enjoy it. 

"Okay!" Arthur said, looking at Harry and Louis. "Do you want to open it?" They shook their heads and gestured for Arthur to go ahead. 

Ripping into the paper, he revealed a bulletin board with seven pushpins in it. Six of the pushpins held slips of paper with a day of the week written on them, but the first one held a polaroid photo of Zayn smiling at the camera. "It's you!" Arthur said, pointing at the photo and looking at Zayn. Harry and Louis narrowed their eyes in confusion. "Did you put it there?" 

"Who does it say it's from?" Liam asked and Arthur dug the tag out of the pile of discarded wrapping and handed it to Liam who tilted it so Zayn could see it.

"It says it's from Christmas Angel," Zayn said, "so that couldn't be me, I'm no angel." He tickled Arthur on the last word, laughing as loudly as the boy did as he wriggled to escape Zayn's fingers.

"It's a weird gift," Harry said but looked over to the wall by the doorway to the back room where they usually hung a wreath but Zayn hadn't gotten around to getting one that year. "We can hang it on the wall over there."

Louis tapped his chin and tilted his head, studying the board as Harry hung it. "I wonder if we'll get more photos for the other days, like the scraps of paper are placeholders or something." Arthur made a sound of agreement as he took a photo of the board and sent it off, all of their phones chiming with the notification. 

Zayn went behind the counter as a group of teenagers came in looking for their speciality coffees to get through a late night of studying while Arthur studied the photo. After a few minutes, he shook his head with a thoughtful twist of his lips before following Gwen and Gavin into the back, most likely up to their flat to play video games. 

Liam joined him behind the counter, leaning into his side as they made the drinks. "Do you think they'll figure it out?" 

Zayn saw Stacey glance over at the board and talk quietly with Louis while Harry came back behind the counter. Shaking his head, he responded, "I don't think they have a clue."

"It's kind of fun being on this side of things, isn't it?" Liam asked.

"Definitely," Zayn responded, pressing a kiss to Liam's cheek, thinking that he'd always be happy teaming up with Liam for the rest of their lives.


	2. Thursday - December 19th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thursday!
> 
> Short note tonight because it's getting late and I've been on the run all day and I still have 500 words to write before I go to bed as well as watching the finale of the Masked Singer so I don't get spoiled at work tomorrow.
> 
> Hope you're enjoying the story!
> 
> xx-Joey

Liam turned off the alarm, rolling onto his side to find Zayn already awake and looking at him. "Good morning, babe," he said, pressing a kiss to Zayn's lips and laughing when he turned away and muttered something about morning breath. "Nervous?"

"I can't believe we decided to do a signing this close to Christmas," Zayn said. "I have so many errands to run to get ready for Santa Saturday and the other event." He ran a hand over his face, mind racing with the millions of things he had to get done.

"Deep breaths," Liam said, reaching a hand out to soothe over Zayn's chest. "Eowyn is taking care of all of the things for Santa Saturday. You've already okayed the mugs and I’ll pick them up tomorrow along with the other decorations we ordered. It's just a good thing she's so damn good at keeping secrets."

Zayn nodded, a soft smile as he thought about his friend who ran Holiday Haven where he got all of the things he needed for Santa Saturday and other holiday events. Zayn had taken Arthur there the year before to help him pick up the Santa Day mugs and the boy had hit it off with her immediately. Eowyn was as child-like as an adult could be so it was no wonder when she encouraged Arthur's delusion that Zayn was Santa Claus, a case of mistaken identity from the year before. Thankfully, she'd also helped Zayn convince Arthur that he'd retired as Santa Claus, turning the reins over to Harry who went along with the story without much fuss.

Zayn had worried that this year he wouldn't be able to dress up as Santa as he had every year since the shop opened without ruining Arthur's illusions, but then the boy had come home from school one day a few weeks earlier, a deep frown on his face. The other kids in his class had told him there was no Santa Claus and teased him relentlessly until he'd hidden in the teacher's closet. It had been one of the first major parenting moments that Zayn was a part of and he'd been so impressed by Liam's handling of the situation. By the end of the night, Arthur still believed in the spirit of Santa Claus, even if he didn't believe in the man who flew around the world in one night. He'd also promised not to tell Gwen and Gavin and he'd gone out of his way to encourage their belief since then.

Liam tapped the tip of Zayn's nose, pulling him out of his reverie. "Get up and get showered. I'll make breakfast before we head over to the bookstore. The signing doesn't start until two." Zayn nodded, climbing off the bed, stopping when Liam grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him back onto the bed. "I love you."

Zayn laughed. "I love you, too."

"I love you both!" Arthur called as he ran past their open bedroom door towards the kitchen. "Now stop kissing and let's make breakfast!" 

"You heard the man," Liam teased. "Start kissing!" He leaned in to kiss the tip of Zayn's nose. 

"That's not what I said!" Arthur shouted and Liam buried his face in Zayn's neck, his laughter tickling until Zayn had to scramble away and into the shower.

Later that afternoon, Zayn stood in the back room of the local booksellers. He peeked out a crack in the door and swallowed at the line of people standing in line, talking happily amongst themselves. He couldn't believe all of these people were here because of him, because two years ago he'd submitted a graphic novel to the publishing company Liam worked for and it had been accepted. Last year at this time he'd been going over the final proofs and last week, Captain Fireproof had been released to eager anticipation thanks to a massive publicity push. It had been Arthur's idea to do the signing and Zayn was still learning to say no to the boy.

"It's going to be alright," Liam said, coming up behind him and wrapping his arms around his waist, chin resting on Zayn's shoulder. "These people love Captain Fireproof almost as much as Arthur and I do."

"No one loves him as much as you do," Zayn teased.

"How can I not? It reminds me so much of everything that I have. If it hadn't been for that firefighter saving Arthur, I wouldn’t be a father. If it hadn't been for Arthur throwing a fit, I wouldn't have set foot in your coffee shop. If I hadn't gone into the coffee shop, we never would have met." Zayn turned as Liam choked on his words, wrapping his arms around his neck.

"But he did and you did and we did," Zayn reminded him, emphasizing each 'did' with a kiss. "And now I'm published and we're getting married and I'm going to have a family again."

"We're already a family," Liam reminded him. 

Zayn had lost his family while in Uni and then been left a week before he was supposed to be married and thought he'd be alone, except for his best mate Harry, forever. Then he'd met Liam and Arthur and Liam's parents. Gwen and Gavin and Stacey. By extension Louis and Lucas and Kelly. Before he knew it, his found family was bigger than the one he'd lost and no less dear. Arthur had once called it fate that brought he and Liam together and Zayn believed him.

Now, the other biggest dream of his life has come true thanks to Destiny Publications. He saw the cardboard cutout of Captain Fireproof as he appeared on the cover of the graphic novel, running out of a flaming house, an infant wrapped in a blue blanket in his hand. The image had been the first he'd drawn and inspired the rest of the story, but after he'd met Arthur and heard his story, he'd added not only the colour of the blanket but also the book tucked under Captain Fireproof's arm,  _ The Night Before Christmas _ and changed the name of the last name of the alter ego of the main character.

Liam pressed his hand to the small of Zayn's back, nudging him towards the door and bringing his mind back to the moment at hand. The owner of the store was introducing him and he blinked back tears at the cheer that went up from the crowd as he pushed through the swinging door, plastering a smile on his face and waving at the people in line. He stood behind the table greeting everyone and thanking them for buying the novel and attending the book signing. When he was done, he settled behind the table and picked up one of the black sharpies waiting for him.

"Hi," he greeted the familiar face that approached the table first. "Don't you already have a couple of signed copies of this?" he teased Arthur.

"This one is for the tree," he told him and Zayn smiled at the giving heart of the boy. "So, just sign it."

Zayn nodded and scribbled his signature across the cover of the novel before sliding it across the table and standing to lean over the table to press a kiss to Arthur's cheek, grinning when the boy whined, " _ Baba _ ," earning a chuckle from the people behind him in line. 

"I'll see you at home," he told Arthur who nodded and waved goodbye as he went to join his grandparents who were standing by the backdoor with Liam. Karen had tears in her eyes, a hand pressed to her chest, the pride she was feeling for Zayn evident on her face, making Zayn tear up again. "I love you," he mouthed to them and Karen blew him a kiss which he pretended to catch and press to his heart before turning his attention to the next person sliding the novel across the table at him.

"Your son is adorable," the woman said. 

He glanced at Liam who was talking to Arthur and not paying attention to what was said. "Thank you," he told her. "He's a really great kid."

They chatted for the two minutes he was allotted per person, his hand flying over the cover with a personalized dedication and a smile. He took a selfie with the woman, feeling a bit self-conscious but he'd done the fan thing before so he understood, even if he couldn't figure out why he had fans. The line moved quickly, everyone pleasant and full of questions he did his best to answer. Several asked about another installment and he was relieved to be able to tell them that he had just finished the final edits on a second graphic novel and planned to start planning a third in January.

While he was sitting behind the table, he saw the sun setting over the buildings across the street and he worried, briefly, that he wouldn't make it to the coffee shop to meet Niall and Bressie, who were visiting from Ireland for a few weeks, to head out to a movie. It had been almost a year since they'd seen them, but now they were talking about moving back to London and although Zayn didn't know them as well as Liam did, his fiancé's excitement was contagious.

He glanced up when Liam set down a bottle of water and ran a hand over his shoulder. Zayn grabbed the hand and pulled it to his lips, kissing the back. He knew that some people would frown on their relationship and it might hurt sales, but he didn't want homophobes reading his works anyway. The second novel had Captain Fireproof's best friend starting a relationship with another man, so his sexuality wasn't something he ever wanted to hide and the way Liam's eyes crinkled when he kissed him in public made him want to keep doing it every time he sees him.

The last person in line was a young woman with dark hair and a bright smile. “Hi,” Zayn greeted her and the girl stammered out a greeting in return. He could tell she was nervous and he tried to keep his voice low and calming as he asked her about the graphic novel. When he was done signing, she stayed in front of him for another moment, looking at him expectantly. “Did you have another question?” She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before shaking her head and hurrying away from the table. Zayn watched her disappear, curious about her behaviour and trying to ignore the feeling that there had been something familiar about her.

He looked up as Liam came to stand in front of the table, a copy of  _ Captain Fireproof _ in his arms. "I'm not signing anything else," he told him, pressing his tongue to the back of his teeth as he laughed at the puppy dog eyes Liam gave him. 

"Not even for the love of your life?" 

"You're going to give that to your mother, then? She already has about ten copies," Zayn teased, ducking when Liam swung the novel to hit him in the arm with it. "Ready to go?"

"Yep. I have everything settled with the bookseller," Liam told him. "They're just going to clean and lock up." Zayn looked around at the tables and chairs and the disarray of the shelves that had run alongside the line. "Or, we can help them clean up." He shook his head fondly at Zayn as they started cleaning off the tables.

They managed to only be about fifteen minutes late by the time they made it to the coffee shop. Arthur was sitting on the sofa, talking with Niall and pointing at the board from the day before on the wall while waving around an envelope. When he spotted his father, he jumped off the sofa and leapt at him, Liam catching him mid-air and spinning him around in a circle, the both of them laughing as Zayn watched on affectionately. 

"Hey, Niall," he greeted when the blond approached. He tilted his head to check each side of his head and grinned. "Well, Arthur hasn't talked your ear off yet, so you can't have been here too long."

"Nah. We just got here a couple of minutes before you," he said. "Bressie was running late from a job interview and then we swung by an open house." He reached out to run a hand over Arthur's head when Liam put him down and he'd thrown his arms around Zayn. "Arthur's been telling us that a Christmas Angel is spoiling the lot of us with strange gifts this year."

"We got another one!" Arthur said, jumping up and down and waving around the envelope. "I think Mr. Louis was right. I think it's another photograph because the envelope is so small!"

"You didn't open it?" Liam asked as Stacey came out of the employee entrance with Gwen next to her, Gavin racing out a minute later, the two kids already dressed for the slumber party they were having with Arthur that night upstairs. 

"We need a core-um," Arthur said, nodding his head officially.

"A quorum?" Liam asked and Arthur rolled his eyes as he nodded and he tried to remember if his son was eleven or fifteen. "Did  _ Baba _ teach you that word?" He nodded. "And how many people make a quorum for the gift recipients?"

"Well, there's the three of us, Mr. Harry and Mr. Louis, Uncle Niall and Mr. Bressie, Auntie Stacey and Gwen and Gavin, and Lucas and Kelly and Grandma and Grandpa," Arthur rattled off, counting each name on his fingers. "So, that is fourteen people and we should have half and that is..." He trailed off and did something complicated with his fingers while scrunching up his face and staring at them. "Seven."

Turning, Arthur started counting the people present. "Eight! We can open it! Who gets to? I opened yesterday's!" He started to hand the envelope to Liam who waved it off and pointed to Zayn with a wink behind Arthur's head. 

"Why don't we let Gwen open today's?" he suggested and Arthur handed the envelope over.

The group watched Gwen while Zayn and Liam watched them, moving closer together to share a small kiss when Gwen finally turned the envelope over and another polaroid fell out into her hand. "It's a picture of Mr. Liam," she said, turning it to show everyone. The photo had been taken without Liam's knowledge, his face was turned away from the camera and he was laughing so hard at something that his eyes had completely vanished and one of his hands was underneath his thigh as he'd rocked back on the sofa where he was sitting.

Arthur held a hand out for the photo and then went over to the wall, pulling over one of the chairs and climbing on it to pin the photo to the second spot on the board. " _ Baba _ and Papa," Arthur said, turning to look at them. "I don't get it."

Stacey was studying the board, her eyebrows furrowed together, teeth digging into her lower lip. She turned to Zayn with a look in her eye that made him uncomfortable and when he glanced over at Liam, he could tell he was feeling the same way, especially when he turned and grabbed Niall by the arm and dragged him out of the coffee shop, calling his goodbyes over his shoulder.

Zayn approached Stacey smiling at her to make sure she was alright with keeping Arthur overnight. "We're going to have a great time. Kelly is coming by in a little bit to bake Christmas Cookies, so I'll have some help." 

"Alright, I'll see you in the morning, I'm covering for Harry so he and Louis can go to breakfast with Louis' sister before she leaves for Dubai for the holidays," Zayn told her. 

"Oh, good, then I'll be able to talk to you when I pick up my coffee in the morning," she said, voice serious as she glanced back at the board.

"Goodbye, Stacey," Zayn said and turned on his heel, snagging Bressie away from where Gwen was trying to climb him like a tree, a bright smile on both of their faces. "Let's go or Niall won't be able to get all of his snacks without missing the previews."


	3. Friday - December 20th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday!
> 
> Is everyone ready for the holidays? I still have to get stocking stuffers and wrap gifts, but I'm pretty much done. 
> 
> I hope everyone reading is enjoying the story so far and I appreciate the comments (and speculations) I've gotten from some of you!
> 
> Have a great day and I'll see you tomorrow!
> 
> xx-Joey

The alarm went off for the second time that day and Liam groaned, burying his face into his pillow and reaching over to the cold side of the bed. Zayn had already been gone to the coffee shop for a couple of hours but now Liam had to get up if he wanted to make it to Eowyn's shop in time to pick up the mugs for Santa Saturday. The woman was going to bring them by but something had come up so Liam agreed to go get them while Zayn was working. It would also help that Liam had a car instead of carrying the cases on the bus like Zayn had been doing for years previously.

Arthur was at the shop, so it was just Liam and Olivia home which he was reminded of when she jumped on the bed and started trying to kiss Liam good morning before jumping off the bed and running to the bedroom door. When Liam didn't immediately get off the bed, she jumped on the bed again and started to whimper. "Alright, girl, I'm getting up," he told her, rubbing a hand over her soft ears and pressing a kiss to the top of her head, laughing when she tried to kiss him back and he pushed her away.

Stepping into the kitchen, he saw a note from Zayn stuck to the refrigerator. Pulling it down, he read over it as he filled Olivia's water and food dishes.  _ Good morning, Jaan. I hated leaving your side this morning and can't wait to see you and go Christmas shopping with you. I've taken today's envelope to put under the tree but I'm pretty sure that Stacey is onto us. I will not lie if she asks, but I'll enlist her to help. I'm beginning to feel overwhelmed despite the massive amounts of help Eowyn has been giving us. There will be cinnamon rolls waiting for you at the shop when you get done picking up the mugs. All my love - Z. _

Picking his phone up from the counter where it had been charging, Liam sent off a text to Zayn letting him know he was awake and getting ready to head over to see Eowyn. He finished his cup of coffee as he got dressed and then grabbed his keys, calling to Olivia who met him at the door tugging on her leash that was hanging on a hook by the door. Liam grabbed it and opened the door, watching Olivia run to the car and sit next to the passenger side door, her butt wiggling in anticipation.

Once in the car, Olivia laid down and fell back to sleep as Liam made his way to the other side of town. He pulled into the private carpark behind Eowyn's store, taking the spot reserved for her, but she didn't drive so she'd given Liam blanket permission to use it. Clipping the leash to Olivia's collar, he walked her to the back door of the shop and knocked to the tune of  _ Jingle Bells _ . A few moments later, a short blonde dressed head to toe as an elf pulled open the door and greeted him briefly before squatting down to greet Olivia with hugs and snuggles and baby talk.

Liam waited patiently until Eowyn was done and then pulled her into a hug. "How are you?" she asked, taking his hand and pulling him into the store. No matter how many times he visited the shop, he was always amazed by the number of decorations that covered every inch, especially at Christmas. His favourite was the snow that fell whenever someone opened the front door; he and Arthur had spent ten minutes opening and closing the door one day just to make it snow and Eowyn never got annoyed, just encouraged the silliness.

"The mugs are ready?" he asked when he reached the counter and he saw the boxes stacked beside it. He reached into the open one on top and pulled out one of the mugs. It was smaller than the average coffee mug and had a child's drawing of a puppy in a Santa hat on the front; Zayn had run a contest back in October and had gotten about fifty entries. They'd spent four days picking the winner and now it was on the mugs for Santa Saturday looking adorable. The back of the mug was the shop's logo with the date and year of the event. Liam's cupboard after Zayn had moved in was filled to the brim with the mugs from all the years the shop was open and he suspected a few of the boxes in the storage unit also contained the treasures.

He turned to smile at Eowyn and nearly dropped the mug at the items she had in her hand. The pieces of silk had been hand-painted by her and had turned out even better than he and Zayn had imagined. He reached out carefully, taking one from her and holding it closer for inspection. "These are amazing," he breathed out. "The ties are done?"

"Not quite yet," she said and Liam's breath caught. "They just need another day to dry completely." She patted him on the arm. "Now, stop worrying, you and Zayn planned everything so there's nothing for you to worry about."

"How can you be so positive all the time?" Liam asked her, handing the silk back to her.

"Life has a way of being negative enough without me helping it along," she said, her bright smile fading only slightly, just enough for his curiosity to be piqued. He wanted to ask but she clapped her hands and picked up one of the boxes. "Let's get these into the car and then you can drive me to the coffee shop, I hear there are cinnamon rolls!"

Shaking his head, Liam grabbed two of the boxes and moved carefully, grateful that Olivia was curled up on the dog bed in the corner with one of the many chew toys Eowyn kept on hand. It took a couple of trips to get the items in the car and then Liam waited while she locked up, leaving a note on the door that she'd be back that afternoon. She grabbed Olivia's leash and brought her out to the car, laughing when Liam gave her a questioning look.

"No, I'm not changing," she told him, climbing in and buckling her seatbelt, Olivia settling in her lap before Liam could say anything else.

Liam opened the door to the shop, letting Olivia off the leash and nudging her into the shop before returning to the car to start grabbing boxes. He was greeted by Arthur shouting, "Papa!" when he returned to the store with two boxes in his arms.

"Good morning, Arthur," Liam said, leaning over to press a kiss to the top of Arthur's head, smiling when the boy let him without fuss. Liam knew as Arthur got older he would stop feeling comfortable with public displays of affection from his father so he would enjoy it while he could.

"Baba made cinnamon rolls!" 

"I know," he said, setting the boxes on the counter, thanking Harry when he grabbed one to take it to the back. "Do you want to see the mug?" Arthur nodded and waited while Liam got one out, barely acknowledging Eowyn when she carried in another box and Harry stepped out to help with the rest in the car. 

Arthur took the mug and smiled at the drawing. "This is Kelly's drawing!" he said, smiling.

"Is it?" Liam asked, a knowing twitch on his lips. They'd purposely left the names off the entries to the contest wanting to be unbiased and had hung the top five on the wall of the shop with tip jars beneath them so the customers could 'put their two pence in'. Kelly's had won by quite a lot and they'd managed to avoid the risk of being accused of bias.

"She's going to be so excited," he told him. "Can I tell her or do we wait until Saturday?"

"I think we should wait," Liam told him and Arthur nodded, taking one last look at the mug before handing it back to Liam to put away.

Arms wrapped around Liam's waist from behind and he leaned back into his fiancé with a sigh. "Morning," he murmured.

"Morning," Zayn said, pressing a kiss to Liam's cheek and brushing his nose over his earlobe. "Thanks for picking up the mugs." 

Turning in his arms, he pulled him into a hug and gave him a proper kiss, breaking off when Arthur started gagging behind him. Sharing a look with Zayn they both turned and scooped him up between them, pressing kisses to his face, the three of them laughing until they heard a fake camera shutter. Turning they found Liam's parents smiling at them, his mom, Karen, holding her phone out in front of her, taking another photo.

"Don't let us interrupt," Geoff, Liam's father, said, his grin wide and proud.

"We have a quorum!" Arthur shouted. "Me, Papa, Baba, Grandma, Grandpa, Mr. Harry, and Gwen!"

"Can we open it now?" Gwen asked, having heard her name and wandering over from where she'd been reading on one of the sofas.

"Yes," Arthur told her and she ran to the tree, coming back with an envelope, Stacey following behind a knowing smile on her face.

"Did you tell her?" Liam whispered to Zayn once everyone else's attention was focused on the envelope with all of their names on it.

"You open it," Arthur said when Gwen tried to give him the envelope. 

“No. I opened yesterday’s,” she argued, so Arthur plucked the envelope out of her hands and ran it over to his grandmother.

Smiling, Karen picked at the flap of the envelope carefully and Liam chuckled at Arthur's impatience as he hovered over the woman. Finally, she got the flap open, reaching inside and pulling out a square of paper. The two of them studied it before looking up at the others who had moved to surround them. "It's a hatchet," Arthur said.

"A hatchet?" Eowyn asked from the sofa arm where she'd perched to watch the opening. Karen showed her the drawing. "Oh, an axe," she said, winking at Zayn when he pursed his lips at her.

"I saw the texts from Arthur for the photos, but I don't understand this one," Geoff said as Arthur moved to the board to pin the axe to the board, replacing the slip of paper with the day written on it.

Karen had moved to study the board, head tilted as she held out a hand and ran it over the three gifts they'd gotten so far. "There's something familiar about this," she said, looking at Geoff, her eyes haunted and Liam moved closer to her and pulling her into a hug, he whispered into her ear and Zayn had a good feeling about what he was saying. When he pulled back, Karen put a hand over her mouth, eyes shining with tears as she looked between her son and Zayn.

"Karen, honey, are you alright?" Geoff asked, approaching, his keys already in hand, prepared to take her home in case it was becoming a bad episode for her.

"Oh, I'm fine," she told him, releasing Liam and moving to embrace Zayn, giggling in his ear. "I know a secret," she sang so only he could hear.

"And you're going to keep it?" he asked, squeezing her tightly.

"Of course," she told him, pulling back and kissing him on the cheek. 

"We just stopped by to pick up some coffee and drop off the gifts for the tree," Geoff explained. He looked at Karen, worry on his face.

Zayn hugged him. "Don't worry about her. It's not a bad day, just an emotional one," he told him. "See you tomorrow for the play?" he asked.

"Absolutely," Geoff assured. Liam and Zayn had purchased tickets for the two of them, Liam's parents and Arthur to go see  _ A Christmas Carol _ at the University. It was Arthur's first time seeing a play and they were all as excited as he was to share the experience with him. 

The coffee shop got quieter as Geoff and Karen left and Stacey and Gwen went back upstairs. Harry was back behind the counter and Arthur and Eowyn were occupied in the corner of the store where she was teaching him how to play chess. Zayn collapsed on the sofa furthest from Arthur, Liam dropping down beside him.

"How did they all manage to keep secrets from us last year and it's only day three and two people are already in the know?" Liam asked.

"We're just not good secret keepers," Zayn told him, resting his head on his shoulder. "Hopefully by Christmas Eve at least someone will be surprised."


	4. Saturday - December 21st

Zayn opened his eyes, his lips stretching into a grin as he looked over at Liam's still sleeping form. Any other day of the year and he'd still be sound asleep, jumping when the alarm went off but not Santa Saturday. Every year, the Saturday before Christmas, he was up before the sun and eager to get moving. His Santa suit was cleaned and hanging in the wardrobe, his wig and beard on a stand in the bathroom. Sliding out of bed, he headed into the kitchen to make breakfast before anyone else woke up, stopping in the doorway to the kitchen when he found Arthur sitting at the table, fully dressed and the makings for eggy bread on the table in front of him.

"Guess I'm not the only one excited for Santa Saturday," he said, walking into the kitchen and standing next to the table to crack the eggs while Arthur measured out the cream and sprinkled the cinnamon. 

"I get to be an elf this year," he said, smiling into the bowl as he mixed everything together and Zayn started slicing thick pieces of bread to dip and cook. "I like helping."

Zayn smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of Arthur's head as he took the bowl and moved to the stove, Arthur following with the plate of bread. Setting the bowl on the counter, Zayn turned to grab a chair from the table for Arthur to kneel on, stopping when he realized that it wasn't necessary; at some point in the last year, he'd grown tall enough to stand at the counter and help. Zayn's eyes grew damp as he thought that next year Arthur might be able to do the cooking himself. His heart lurched a bit and he wondered if this is what Liam felt when his eyes got soft and misty while watching Arthur do something new for the first time.

"Baba?" Arthur asked, breaking him from his reverie. "Are you alright?"

"I'm perfect," he said, dipping the first piece of bread and putting it into the frying pan.

When the plate of eggy bread was piled high next to another plate of rashers of bacon, Arthur went into the bedroom to wake Liam up. Zayn could hear the two of them talking and laughing as they came closer to the kitchen. Liam's hair was rumpled and pillow creases covered his cheek. Smiling, Zayn pressed a kiss to his smooth cheek and used his thumb to rub over the other. "Good morning, Jaan," he said.

"Morning," Liam mumbled, dropping into his normal seat at the table and reaching for a piece of bread, stabbing it with a fork before dropping it on his plate and staring at it. "Sticky stuff," he said, looking up at Zayn with wide eyes.

"Syrup?" Arthur asked, giggling and passing the bottle over, used to his father's inability to find words first thing after waking up.

Zayn set a mug of coffee next to Liam's plate, adding three sugars before filling his own plate with eggy bread and a couple of slices of melon. As they ate, he and Arthur kept up a steady stream of conversation while Liam focused on waking up. After his mug had been emptied, he stood to refill it, settling back into his chair and smiling at Zayn and Arthur. "Good morning."

"He lives!" Arthur said around a mouthful of bacon.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Zayn said offhandedly, blushing at the bright smile Liam gave him before leaning over to whisper, "Just like a proper dad," and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

Once they were done eating, Arthur offered to wash the dishes so Zayn and Liam could get dressed; slipping on the Batman apron Zayn had given Liam for Christmas the year before. Taking advantage of his son's eagerness to do chores, Liam pulled Zayn down the hall back to their bedroom to give him a proper morning greeting. "We don't have time," Zayn said as Liam pressed him against the closed door.

"Just a couple kisses," Liam said, nipping at Zayn's jawline, smiling when he gave in, his body going lax. Smiling, he returned to Zayn's mouth, deepening the kiss, pouting when he slipped out of his arms and danced away from his grabby hands. 

"Later. After the play, when Arthur spends the night with your parents, we'll have the whole house to ourselves," Zayn promised, pressing one last kiss to Liam's lips before grabbing the Santa suit and starting to change.

"Do I have to be an elf?" Liam pouted, holding up the costume. "I look ridiculous."

"Could be worse," Zayn told him. "You could be Mrs. Claus."

"I'd almost prefer it," Liam muttered as he pulled off his sleep shirt to start changing.

An hour later, Liam parked behind the coffee shop. They'd had to take the long way so that no children spotted Santa in a car driving by the front of the shop. Getting out, Arthur ran ahead to scout out how crowded the shop was and to let Harry and Louis know they were there.

Liam hugged Zayn quickly and straightened his suit where it had gotten a bit bunched up on the car ride from the house. "Nervous?"

"Never," he responded. "This is my favourite day of the year. Who's taking notes?" They made notes off what all the kids asked for, the reason is two-fold; they gave the lists to the parents if asked and if not, they made sure there was something small off the child's list left underneath the tree in the shop on Christmas Day. 

"Stacey is on the sofa closest to Santa's chair with the notes app ready and waiting on her phone," Liam told him, checking his own phone and smiling down at the texts that were arriving rapid fire from the members of the group chat currently inside the coffee shop awaiting their arrival.

The backdoor opened and Arthur was grinning as he tugged on the bag of mini copies of  _ 'Twas the Night Before Christmas _ they were giving out to all of the kids that spoke to Santa. Taking the bag, Liam helped Zayn heft it over his shoulder and then held the door to let him through while Arthur ran through to announce Santa's arrival. A loud roar went up from the main part of the shop and Liam and Zayn exchanged glances before Zayn took a deep breath and entered the store, calling out a hearty, "Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!"

By the time the last child had sat on Zayn's lap and rattled off their wish list, several hours had passed. Stacey looked down at her phone and mouthed, "One hundred and fifty-two." It was the largest group of kids Santa Saturday had ever seen and Zayn felt a burst of pride that they hadn't run out of any of the gifts for the kids. He waved goodbye as he went back out the way he came, heading up the stairs to Stacey's flat, which used to be Zayn's, above the shop to take a quick shower and change into regular clothing.

Liam watched Zayn disappear before glancing around the shop with a smile on his face. Arthur and Stacey's kids and Kelly were settled on some pillows in a corner by the window drinking hot chocolate out of the mugs, the smile on Kelly's face brighter than he'd seen it in a long time as she kept running over her design on the side of the mug she was using. Stacey had moved to the front window of the shop, her phone and a notepad in front of her as parents passed by to speak with her. Lucas was standing behind her, his hands gently rubbing at her shoulders. Niall and Bressie were sitting with Liam's parents, the lot of them looking exhausted as they picked at pastries and sipped from cups of tea. Eowyn was flitting through the store, playing games and passing out candy canes to the children that were still hanging around the shop.

With everyone's attention focused on other things, Liam approached the tree, slipping an envelope between the branches, the dedication facing out to be easily seen by any of the recipients. He was turning away from the tree when his eyes met Stacey's who gave him a wink and reached a hand up to tap a finger against her nose and wink at Liam. Rolling his eyes, he repeated the motions back. He wasn't sure if he was upset or relieved that Stacey was onto them.

Zayn came down the stairs a few minutes later, hair still damp and black sweater sticking slightly to his torso. His skin looked a bit pale and Liam narrowed his eyes in concern. "Alright?" 

Zayn sighed out a breath and nodded. "Just a bit tired," he said. "It's a lot of work being Santa." He kept his voice low to keep the others from hearing. He leaned against Liam, relaxing into the arm he wrapped around his waist. "It got really hot in the costume."

Liam chuckled. He completely understood what Zayn was saying. He'd suffered heat exhaustion after dressing up as the Easter Bunny for the shop one year, leading to a lot of laughter from everyone but still made him shudder as he remembered throwing up in the back of the shop, stripped down to his boxers and passing out on the floor with bunny whiskers drawn on his face. Settling Zayn on the sofa near the tree, a young couple with their infant sliding over to give him room, he went to the counter to get a couple of water bottles for Zayn.

Zayn watched Liam go before looking around the shop. His eyes fell on the young couple sharing the sofa with him, his eyes narrowing slightly when the young woman gave him a bright smile; something about her was very familiar. She opened her mouth to speak when his brain made the connection. "You were at the signing," he said.

"Yes," she responded, her smile growing. "I can't believe you remembered. That line was really long." She turned to her husband, tapping his arm as she lifted the baby over her shoulder, bouncing her slightly as she started to fuss. "Jordan, this is Zayn Malik," she told him. "Mr. Malik, this is my husband, Jordan."

"Nice to meet you, mate. Please call me Zayn." He turned his attention back to her. "What is your name?"

She giggled. "I'm sorry. My name is Morgan and this little princess is Jenna."

"Nice to officially meet you all," he said, wiggling a finger at Jenna who grabbed it and tried to pull it toward her mouth, grip strong enough that Zayn had to tug to get it out of her grasp. "I didn't see Jenna on Santa's lap," he said.

"Oh, she's a bit young," Jordan said. "We actually didn't know today was a big event until we got here." He glanced at his wife and then back to Zayn. "We're actually here to see you."

Zayn's heart sped up as his mind raced with thoughts of the horror stories about stalkers that were always in the news and he let out a huge sigh of relief when Liam settled on the arm of the sofa next to him, handing over a bottle of water and smiling at Jordan and Morgan. "Hello."

Zayn gave quick introductions, Morgan's smile growing when he introduced Liam as his fiancé. "Morgan was at the signing and her husband said they are here to see me."

"Really?" Liam said, his grip on Zayn's hand tightening and his phone coming out of his pocket, catching her eye.

"I mean no harm. I wanted to ask you something Thursday, but I chickened out. I might be barking up the wrong tree, but are you related to Trisha Brannon?" she asked, her words in a rush that stopped his racing heart.

"Zayn," Liam said, squeezing his hand again. "Wasn't that your mum's maiden name?" Zayn nodded, swallowing against the massive lump in his throat. "What is your business? Why are you here asking about his mum?"

Jordan took Jenna from Morgan who reached down into the satchel at her feet, bringing out a roll of paper and laying it across her lap, revealing a few inches. "I'm taking a genealogy course at the university," she said. "I'm working on my family tree and I found your name and when I searched, I saw you lived here so I thought I'd contact you to fill in some blanks." She tapped his mother's name on the piece of paper and Zayn reached out to run his fingers over the letters and then down to his own name. "I tried finding your mum, but I found..." She trailed off, not needing to say that she must have found her obituary and Zayn appreciated it.

"We didn't know if you would want us to contact you, but..." Jordan said, bouncing Jenna again who was now giggling and tugging at Jordan's beard. "It's the holidays and family is family."

Tears sprang to Zayn's eyes and he looked up at them in a new light before running his hand over the paper, trying to find them on the tree. They were several branches to the left of him. "What does this make us."

"Well, best as I can tell, our great-great-grandfathers were brothers, so that makes us third cousins," she told him. "I know that doesn't make us any less strangers, but I was hoping to learn about you and your family."

"I don't know much. My parents were only children and my grandparents all died when I was young," Zayn told her. "I can tell you a little bit, I guess." He kept running his fingers over the paper, nudging at where it met the roll. "Can I look at the whole thing?"

"Yeah!" Morgan responded, her smile growing, her excitement palpable. 

She started to unroll the paper when Arthur came running up, waving an envelope. "Papa! Baba!" he shouted. "We have another one!" He froze when he saw Morgan smiling at him. "Hi," he said shyly.

Zayn opened his mouth to make introductions but he lost the words and looked to Liam for help. "Arthur, this is Jordan, Morgan and Jenna. Ms. Morgan is Baba's third cousin."

"You have blood family, Baba?" Arthur asked. He'd known even before Liam about Zayn losing his family so this was big news and when Arthur frowned after his bought of excitement, Liam started to question him, but then his son just waved the envelope again. "Can we open it?"

"What's this?" Morgan asked and then bit her lip. "Sorry."

"No," Zayn said. "It's alright. Um, have you ever been here before?" They shook their heads so he explained the history of the tree to them. "This year, our groups of friends and family are being gifted with envelopes and that board." He pointed and Morgan stood to look at it more closely.

"Interesting," she said and Jordan cleared his throat.

"I hate to cut this short, but we have to get going or we'll be late to dinner and I don't want your mum glaring at me all night," he said, his tone teasing.

"More family?" Arthur whispered, frowning and moving away to the sit with Gwen who was reading a book on the sofa. She smiled up at him and leaned against him to begin reading aloud.

"I'm sorry," Morgan said. "Can I give you my number? If you are willing to talk, you can give me a call, but no pressure."

Zayn took the slip of paper Morgan gave him and waved goodbye, his face still a bit pale but his eyes sparkling with something Liam didn't recognize. Once they were gone, Liam pulled him into a hug, rubbing a hand over his back as he trembled in his arms. "Alright?"

"Stunned and still a bit dodgy," Zayn said. 

"Are you going to be alright for the play?" he asked, checking his watch over Zayn's shoulder. "We have about an hour until we need to leave." 

"I should be. Now let's go let Arthur open the envelope before he bursts," Zayn said.

Arthur sat up a bit straighter when their attention turned to him. He held the envelope out to Gavin who had been curled up on the floor in the front of the sofa out of sight of the adults behind the low table. Yawning and stretching, he took the envelope and tore it open with enthusiasm. Gavin didn't talk much but he did everything with enthusiasm. He pulled the item out and looked at it in confusion before holding it up for everyone to see. 

"Sheep," he said.

"Girly sheep," Kelly said, pointing to the pink bow on her head as Gavin stood and crossed to the board, standing on tiptoes to hang it with that day's pushpin. 

"Zayn. Liam. Hatchet. Sheep." He looked over at them with a frown. "Are you going to kill sheep for Christmas dinner?"

Liam buried his face in the back of Zayn's neck, shoulders shaking as he held back his laughter, relieved when Zayn shook his head. "I have no plans on slaughtering any of our wooly friends." He elbowed Liam who was still laughing, tears leaking out of the corners of his eyes. "I can't make any promises about Liam though."

"Hey," Liam objected, raising his head. "Anything we eat for dinner will not be killed by me and we usually have chicken for dinner anyway."

"I don't get it," Arthur muttered. "These gifts are weird." 

His son's attitude was starting to get to Liam and he started to pull him to the side, but Zayn stopped him. "Let me handle this one?" he asked and Liam nodded, at a loss for what he was going to say anyway. "Hey, Arthur. Can you come help me with something in the back?"

Arthur shrugged but followed Zayn into the backroom. When the door had closed behind them, Zayn walked into the walk-in freezer, searching for the box of Twister ice creams he kept hidden. Finding it, he grabbed out two, stepping back out and handing one to Arthur before settling on the floor and leaning back against the freezer door. He patted the ground next to him and Arthur settled in, sucking on the ice cream and staring at the wall in front of him.

"So, vas happenin'?" Arthur shrugged. "Does this have to do with Morgan and her family?" Arthur flinched on the last word giving away the answer. "Bit of a shock to find out I still have family out there."

Arthur's face hardened. "You already have family," he said. "Me and Papa." He sniffled and Zayn's heart broke. 

He wrapped an arm around Arthur's shoulders and pulled him against his side. "Just because I found out that I have some people related to me by blood doesn't mean that you and Liam are any less my family. Morgan and Jordan are strangers to me."

Arthur fiddled with his fingers in his lap, twisting them together. "Do you think I have blood family somewhere?" he asked.

A loud crash had them both looking up to find Liam staring at them eyes wide, a pile of broken mugs around his feet. He stammered a few words and then started cleaning up the broken shards, cursing and sticking his thumb into his mouth when he cut it on a shard. His mind was racing over what Arthur had asked; aside from the occasional question about his birth parents, he'd never expressed an interest in his biological family. He stared at his son who was frowning at him, leaning into Zayn, who looked as concerned as Liam felt.

Walking into the kitchen, cradling the broken pieces in his hands, his mind went over the folder of papers that Liam kept in a safe at the house. Everything he knew about Arthur's birth parents was in that folder; if he had any family still alive, he would find them, even if it meant losing him. Arthur's happiness was all that mattered to him.


	5. Sunday - December 22nd

Zayn woke up, his throat scratchy and eyes heavy. Reaching over blindly, he patted around the nightstand until he found a bottle of water that he kept on the nightstand and took a few sips, the room temperature water soothing his throat. Rolling onto his back, he stared at the ceiling, reaching over and squeezing what he thought was Liam's arm.

"Baba?" Arthur asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "Why you grabbing me?"

"What are you doing in here?" Zayn asked, whispering when he looked past Arthur to see Liam still sleeping.

"I had a bad dream," he said as he started to slide off the bed. "I'm sorry."

Zayn stopped him with a hand on his arm, pulling him back up between himself and Liam. Even at eleven years old, Arthur wasn't too old to need the comfort of his father and Zayn wasn't going to stand in the way of that. "No. It's fine. I was just confused," he told him. "Did the play scare you?"

The play the night before had been amazing and their front row seats made them feel like they were part of the show. Arthur was all into it but when the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come came onstage, an actor clearly on stilts, and walked to the edge of the stage right in front of them, looming tall and threatening, the boy had let out a gasp and buried his face in Liam's shoulder. He had refused to look again until Liam had assured him the big scary ghost was gone. It wasn't surprising that he'd had a nightmare since he'd been scared enough to come home instead of staying the night with Liam's parents.

"Liam," Zayn whispered, reaching around Arthur to poke his fiancé. "Wake up. Arthur needs you."

Liam mumbled something incoherent but rolled over and squinted his eyes open before tugging Arthur into a hug, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. Grinning, Arthur buried his face in Liam's neck with a sigh. When Zayn tried to slide off the bed, he reached out and fisted the sleeve of his shirt, pulling him into the cuddle. Smiling, the three of them fell back to sleep.

Liam woke up to an empty bed, his mind struggling to full wakefulness. He could hear the television going at a low volume and the radio in the room Zayn used as a studio and he used as a home office playing Christmas Carols, Zayn singing along. Pushing himself into a seated position, Liam stretched and smiled as his eyes fell on a mug of coffee on the nightstand. Picking it up, he found that it was still warm enough to drink, so he did.

When the mug was empty, he went into the kitchen to refill it, passing Arthur sitting on the sofa with a loom in his lap working on a scarf made of soft pink yarn he'd picked out a few weeks earlier on a trip to the craft store. He wanted to make a scarf and hat for Gwen and pink was her favourite colour. He had a bag with yarn for hats and scarves for Gavin and Kelly sitting next to him on the sofa; he'd been working furiously for several days but was getting down to the wire if he wanted to give them to the kids on Christmas Eve at their found family party at the coffee shop. One of the older Disney movies was playing on the screen, something with magicians if Liam remembered correctly.

"Morning, Arthur," he said.

"Morning, Papa! There are donuts on the counter," he called back to him. "Grandpa dropped them off while we were still sleeping."

Liam smiled as he grabbed a glazed donut, chewing thoughtfully. His father spoiled him and he appreciated it, he just hoped he didn't do it because he didn't think Liam could provide for his family. He had a good job at the publishing company and he invested well; Arthur wanted for nothing even when things were a little tighter than normal. He knew he was a good father, he just wondered if others agreed. Heading out of the kitchen with a fresh mug of coffee, he checked on Arthur again, hoping that he thought Liam was a good father.

Stepping into the office, Liam watched Zayn in front of a canvas, dancing around a bit as his brush streaked over the canvas. "Morning," he called, laughing when Zayn jumped, nearly dropping the brush. Liam was extremely thankful for the drop cloths Zayn had used to cover the floors after a purple streak had mysteriously appeared on the hardwood floor shortly after moving into the house.

"Don't do that," Zayn said, but he put the brush down and moved to hug him, pressing a kiss to the tip of his nose before moving to his lips. 

They spent a couple of minutes kissing before Liam nearly dropped the coffee mug. Zayn went back to the painting and Liam set the mug on his desk before kneeling and sliding the false panel aside to reveal the safe. He got the file out and closed the safe, replacing the panel. When he stood back up, Zayn was watching him. "Arthur's file," he said, holding it up. "Gonna see if I can find him some blood family."

He'd tried to hide his emotions but the words came out choked anyway and Zayn put the brush down again to come sit on the edge of the desk while Liam settled into the chair. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to, you know. He wouldn't know."

"I would," Liam said. 

"You're a good dad," Zayn told him. "Give me some of that. I'll help."

Arthur came into the study a couple of hours later, Gwen's finished scarf in his hands and found them both buried in the paperwork. Liam's hair was standing up on his head from his fingers running through it and Zayn's lip was nearly bleeding from the number of times he'd bitten it in frustration. There was nothing in the files about family beyond Arthur's deceased parents. Zayn was beginning to wonder if he should ask Morgan for help; she'd managed to find him after all.

"Gwen called. She wants to know if I can come over and make gingerbread houses," he told them.

"Yeah, of course," Liam told him. "Let me just get dressed and I'll take you over."

"I have to take a shower," he told him and Liam nodded, his eyes back on the papers and Zayn watched Arthur's shoulders drop and he left the room. 

Reaching over, Zayn took the papers out of Liam's hands and started putting everything back into the folder. "I'm going to call Morgan. Maybe she can give me advice on how to start looking. You go get ready to take Arthur. Maybe get some lunch with him. We've all been so busy you haven't had much one on one time with him and I'm sure he misses you."

Liam's eyes were bloodshot and tired as he looked up at Zayn, grateful smile on his lips. "Great idea." Standing, he pulled Zayn into a deep kiss. "I can't wait to marry you."

Smiling, Zayn gave him one more kiss. "Not too much longer."

Arthur was waiting when Liam finished getting ready. He had his rucksack over his shoulder and Liam's jacket in his hands. They walked to the car in silence but when Liam turned away from the coffee shop, he spoke up. "Where are we going? Gwen's waiting for me!"

"I thought we would get something to eat." Arthur's grin was wide as he nodded and threw his rucksack in the backseat, bouncing a little in his seat.

The diner was crowded but they sat at the counter, bumping elbows and laughing as they waited for the harried waitress behind the counter to come take their orders. Arthur started talking about school and the club that his teacher was trying to start for kids interested in the arts. When he'd told her about the scarves he made, she'd asked if he would be interested in teaching other kids how to loom knit. 

"That's amazing!" Liam told him. "Do they need looms? Yarn? We can probably talk to the craft shop about a bulk purchase." His mind was already trying to figure out how much everything would cost and if he could swing it. 

"I don't know. I'll ask her," he said. 

Their conversation was interrupted by the waitress who took their drink and food orders all at one time. When she left, Liam tried to pick it up where it had left off, but Arthur interrupted him. "What were you and Baba looking at in the office? It looked serious." His tone was worried and his fingers were fiddling in his lap, gaze locked on them, avoiding Liam's searching eyes.

"It was your file," he explained. 

"Are you returning me?" He looked up at him then and Liam flinched at the tears and horror he saw there. 

"First, that's not how it works," he told him. "You can't return kids and, more importantly, I would never want to return you. You're stuck with me." Arthur nodded but his lip was still wobbling. "I was trying to see if there was any family listed other than your parents."

"Do they want me?" he asked.

"I haven't found anyone," he explained, frowning when Arthur's deepened. "I'll keep looking if you want me to, though."

"I don't know." He picked up his straw, peeling off the wrapper and playing with it, twisting it in his fingers. "I love you and I don't want you to think that I don't."

"I know you love me." Liam looked up at the waitress as she sat down their drinks, asking her for another straw for Arthur, his destroyed. "I also understand why you might be curious about where you came from and how that still affects who you are and who you will become." Arthur nodded and Liam reached over and squeezed his hand, smiling down at him. "I love you, too. More than anything, alright?"

Their food came then and they tucked in, conversation forgotten while they ate. Liam kept looking at Arthur out of the corner of his eye, his son's eyes were drawn to the television behind the counter. A classic game show was playing and when Liam saw what it was, he smiled, watching Arthur's movements stop, hamburger partway to his mouth.

"Papa!" he said, dropping his burger and slapping him on the arm and pointing at the television. "It's like the board! The Christmas Angel board! Miss!" he called to the waitress, waving his arm until she came over asking if he needed something else. "Do you know the name of this show?" he asked, pointing to the television again.

She looked over and turned back to him with a smile. "Sure do, love. It's called  _ Concentration _ . You've never seen it?" Arthur shook his head no. "Well, you match tiles and it reveals a puzzle board underneath. Then you solve the puzzle and win money."

"What are the puzzles like? Are they all pictures?" Liam could see the wheels turning in Arthur's head and he shot off a quick text to Zayn letting him know what was going on, biting back a laugh when all he got back was a screaming emoji.

"So sometimes the pictures mean something else?" Arthur was asking when Liam tuned back in, his expression serious. "So, a hatchet could be something else?"

The waitress nodded, looking more enthusiastic than she had since they'd walked in and Liam planned to double her tip as she kept interacting with her son in between refilling coffees and delivering food and taking orders. "A hatchet could be an axe and that is pretty similar to 'ask' so that might be what it means."

"Baba, Papa, ask, sheep," he muttered as the waitress disappeared after dropping off their bill and Liam started digging money out of his wallet and laying it on the counter, hustling Arthur away before he could ask too many more questions. 

"Thank you for your help and Merry Christmas!" he shouted to the waitress who waved and returned the well wishes along with a few other customers Liam had witnessed listening on the conversation and smiling.

The coffee shop was bustling when they arrived and Arthur let himself through the back door and upstairs to Stacey's flat while Liam went to the counter to get some coffees to take back to the house. "Harry!" he greeted, frowning when he was greeted less than enthusiastically by his friend. "What's the matter?" Harry sneezed in response and Liam took in his reddened eyes and pale complexion. "You're sick! What are you doing here?"

"Short staffed," he said. "Louis' sick too. Nasty bug going around."

"And you're going to risk infecting everyone you serve today!" Liam said. "Go home. I'll take over."

"You suck at making coffee," Harry argued but was already pulling his apron over his head and heading towards the exit. "Thank you, mate."

"Go," Liam told him, slipping his apron over his head and going behind the register. Relieved when Conor, one of the seasonal employees Zayn had hired, came out of the kitchen to make the drinks while Liam took orders. He could handle the cash register and regular coffees with little issue, but the more complicated drinks were still beyond his skill set so he was grateful for the help. 

Conor and Liam worked non-stop for an hour, keeping smiles on their faces in the midst of stressed-out Christmas shoppers until finally there was a lull and they both leaned against the counter catching their breath. The bell over the door rang and Liam groaned quietly, turning with a smile on his face to greet another customer and laughing instead when he saw Zayn standing there with his arms over his chest.

"You don't work here," he told Liam, moving behind him to grab his own apron off a hook and hip checking Liam out of the way. He had Conor take over the register, as much as Zayn loved the coffee shop and the joy it brought people, he still struggled with dealing with strangers. He started fiddling with the machine and handed over a hot chocolate to Liam with extra whipped topping. "Go sit down. I've got this."

"How did you know?" he asked, taking a sip and licking the cream from his upper lip, Zayn's eyes tracking the movement.

"I didn't. When you didn't come home or answer your texts, I hoped you were still here," he explained. "Opened the door and saw you impersonating an employee."

"Not the first time. Won't be the last," Liam told him, moving to one of the overstuffed armchairs by the window and collapsing into it, pulling his phone out of his pocket and scrolling through the missed texts from Zayn. 

He was nodding off when a weight dropped into his lap and he looked up to find Zayn. "Done already?"

"Jaymi's been asking for extra hours since he and Olly got married, so I called him in early," Zayn explained, pointing behind the counter where one of the midnight bakers was running the register. He took a moment to wave at Liam before turning his attention on the next customer. 

They went upstairs to check on Arthur, finding him at the table with Gwen and Gavin working on gingerbread houses. There was a fourth house on the table but no sign of Kelly or Stacey. "Where's your mum?" Zayn asked and Gavin pointed towards the floor meaning she was downstairs but they hadn't seen her. "Is everything alright?"

"Kelly got upset about something," Gwen said. "Mama went to talk to her."

"Arthur, keep an eye on G2, yeah?" Liam said, heading towards the stairs again.

"Already was," he answered, smirking when Liam cuffed him gently on the back of the head for sassing him, following up the action with a kiss to the top of the head.

Returning downstairs, they turned away from the main room of the shop towards Zayn's office, which was usually unused, but they could see the lights coming from underneath the door and heard voices from within, too quiet to make out what was being said but loud enough to be heard. Hesitating only for a moment, Liam knocked on the door. A moment later, Stacey opened the door, eyes shining with tears. 

"I'm sorry, do you need the office?"

Zayn shook his head. "Just coming to check on the both of you," he said, looking past Stacey to Kelly who was sitting on the floor, back against the desk, tears in her own eyes, but she smiled up at them.

The young teen wiped at her eyes, smearing the small amount of mascara that Lucas allowed her to wear. "Sorry. We were listening to Christmas carols and  _ Silent Night _ came on," she said. "It was my mum's favourite." Zayn's heart panged at the familiar emotion; Stacey had lost her mum when she was younger and he knew what it was like to be reminded of someone that was gone. "Thanks for listening to me, Stacey," she said, pushing herself to stand and hug her.

In the year that Stacey had been dating Kelly's father, Lucas, the girl had been open and accepting of their relationship. Zayn and Liam had witnessed the developing relationship between Stacey and Kelly as well as that between the two adults and they were happy that they'd brought first Stacey and her kids into their found family in the first place. The blessing just grew when she brought in Lucas and Kelly and they all hoped they would never lose any of them. 

"I'm going to head back upstairs to check on the kids," Stacey said. "Are you ready to come up or do you want a few more minutes?"

Kelly looked at the men and then back at Stacey. "Just another minute. Let me wash my face?" They hugged again and Stacey went upstairs. Zayn and Liam started to leave the room when Kelly called for them. "My father wants to ask Stacey to marry him."

Zayn's smile was wide and words flew out of Liam's mind. "How do you feel about that?" Zayn asked, remembering how worried he'd been about Arthur's reaction when he'd thought about proposing to Liam.

"I think it's great," she said. "I love Stacey and the kids and all of you." She wiped at her face, checking the mirror that Zayn kept on the wall. "I just wanted to tell you in case you were planning some big surprise on Christmas Eve because he might beat you to it."

She went upstairs and Liam and Zayn looked at each other, shaking their heads. "Are we really so obvious?"

Zayn shrugged. "Should we change the plan?"

"Absolutely not," Liam responded. "We go ahead with our plan and let Lucas do his as well. Christmas is a special time for all of us."

They were putting their coats on to leave when Niall and Bressie came into the shop, huge smiles on their faces. "Good, we caught you!" Niall said, pulling Liam into a hug. "We found a house!" 

"That's great!" Liam said. "So, you're really moving back, then?" He looked up at Bressie who was watching them, a fond smile on his face.

"We are," he said. "Ask him where the house is."

"Where's the house?" Zayn asked, opening his arms to Niall when he released Liam, laughing when the enthusiastic Irishman picked him up off the ground and spun him in circles as he answered.

"Three doors down from the greatest neighbours in the history of neighbours!" he shouted and several heads in the coffee shop looked over at him, laughing; Niall knew how to draw a crowd.

"You bought the old Meyer house?" Liam asked. "I didn't even know you were looking at it! That's amazing!"

"We'll never be rid of you now," Zayn teased, turning to shake Bressie's hand as the kids came down in through the door to the upstairs, each carefully carrying their gingerbread house to display in the shop. "Duty calls."

Moving quickly, he cleared a shelf to put the gingerbread houses on and allowed Kelly the honour of placing them. She'd put the last one up when the door to the shop opened and Lucas came in, bringing in a gust of cold air and snow.

"Snow!" Arthur shouted, running and pressing his face to the glass. The flakes were big and falling slowly but the wind was picking up quickly, they were in for a massive storm.

Gavin glanced towards the window before making his way over to the tree, poking between the branches before pulling out a now-familiar envelope. He looked at it for a moment, tilting his head as he ran his finger over the writing and then looking up at Zayn and smiling. Before Zayn could ask him anything, he walked over and handed the envelope to Kelly. "Your turn," he said.

Grinning, Kelly tore open the envelope and pulled out another piece of paper, this one a drawing of a number two. She turned it so Gavin could see it, who called out to Arthur and soon they were surrounded by the recipients who were present. Kelly moved to hang it on the board and stepped back to look at it. "Zayn. Liam. Hatchet. Sheep. Two," she said.

"I think it's an axe," Arthur said, launching into a story of the game show and the helpful waitress. Liam and Zayn shared a smile before moving to a table with Niall and Bressie to discuss when they were going to make the move into their new home.


	6. Monday - December 23rd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings and Salutations!
> 
> It's almost Christmas and the story will be wrapping up soon. I hope you all are enjoying it!
> 
> xx-Joey

Olivia leapt onto the bed, startling Liam to complete wakefulness from the light sleep he'd fallen into the night before after staying up far too late talking with Zayn about the conversation he'd had with Morgan earlier in the day. They were meeting for lunch that day while her husband was at work and Liam was nervous about it, but he and Arthur had plans to go Christmas shopping for Zayn, both of them struggling to come up with the perfect gift for him so they hoped that they would be able to come up with something while fighting off the crowds at the shops.

He play-wrestled with Olivia, forcing Zayn into the same state of awareness as Liam and he couldn't help kissing the pout on his lips. As soon as he deepened the kiss, morning breath be damned, Olivia huffed at them both and jumped off the bed and padded out of the room, most likely in search of Arthur. It had been far too long since they'd been able to be alone together for more than a couple of minutes and even though he knew they would have plenty of time soon, Liam was going to take advantage of every single moment that he could.

He had just peeled off Zayn's shirt when Arthur came to the doorway and knocked on the frame. Glancing over, Zayn burst out laughing when he saw Arthur with his hands over his eyes. "Are you two kissing again?" he asked.

"Always!" Liam shouted, doing just that and laughing when Zayn shoved him hard enough that he fell off the edge of the bed, landing with a loud crash that caused Arthur to drop his hand and race over to him.

"Papa, are you alright?" he asked, kneeling next to him as Zayn moved to stare at them over the edge of the bed.

"I don't know, I think I need some kisses to make me feel better," Liam said, winking at Zayn.

"Where does it hurt,  _ Jaan _ ?" Zayn asked.

Liam opened his mouth to answer and Arthur narrowed his eyes. "You guys are doing that secret naughty talk that goes over my head, aren't you?" The blush flew over Liam's face so quickly he felt lightheaded and Zayn buried his face in the blankets to hide his laughter. "Yeah, I'm leaving the room now," he said and did just that, calling out as he left, "I made toast and coffee, so get moving."

"When did he get so grown up?" Liam asked, looking after him, the corners of his mouth twitching like he didn't know if he wanted to frown or smile at the maturity of his son. "He's not three years old anymore."

"He's not," Zayn said, smiling. "What was he like? When you first adopted him." Zayn’s heard a lot of stories about Arthur, but he wanted to know more, know everything about the boy.

Liam thought about Zayn's question, remembering Arthur as an infant when the social worker had first dropped him off at his parents' home to be fostered. It was only supposed to be a temporary placement, but they couldn't find any family to take him and with an overloaded system, he stayed with them. Liam doted on Arthur, offering to watch him whenever his parents had even hinted at having plans. His sisters teased him that he was such a dad, teasing him and calling him Daddy Liam. 

When Arthur was three years old, Liam's mom, Karen, was diagnosed with early-onset dementia and the Payne's foster certifications had been immediately revoked. Protective Services had come to take Arthur away, but Liam couldn't stand the thought and although he was young and without a partner, he decided to adopt him. It took two years before the adoption was finalized and there were months where Arthur was placed with other families, but he'd always cry and throw a fit until he got to see Liam and his parents. 

When he was officially Arthur Grey Payne, the little boy had been ecstatic to be living with Liam. He'd been well-behaved for a child his age, at first. Within the first year, Liam had dealt with tantrums and sass and everything the books his mother had given him warned him about. It wasn't until Karen had been moved into a long-term care facility that Liam and Arthur had bonded fully. In fact, it had begun in Zayn's coffee shop, although they hadn't known it at the time. After that, they truly became a team, working together to make things easier for Liam's father and generally trying to make the world a better place.

He was brought back from his stroll down memory lane by Zayn's hand on his cheek, brushing away a tear. "Hey. Where'd you go?"

Liam smiled, pressing a kiss to his lips and then brushing the tips of their noses together. "He was a great kid just like he is now, but I struggled as a parent. Still do."

"You do a great job," Zayn assured him. "Are you sure you want me to talk to Morgan about finding any extended family? We don't have to do this." Zayn had offered the same thing numerous times the night before and Liam's answer had been the same every time. He needed to do this for Arthur, he had to at least try. “Okay, thanks to the birth and engagement announcements we found, I know his parents’ names were Christopher and Anna Hudson and he was born Arthur Grey Hudson.” 

"I’d thought about changing his name, but I didn't want to take it away from him. It's why I’ve always taken such good care of that book," Liam said. When the fireman had rescued Arthur from his crib, he'd grabbed the blanket and a copy of  _ 'Twas the Night Before Christmas _ that was sitting on his dresser. Those were the only two things he had from his previous life aside from copies of his birth and his parents' engagement announcements from a local newspaper. Even though the announcement had included a photo of Arthur's parents, there had been no mention of other family.

Arthur shouted for them again, his eagerness to go fight the crowds was amazing. Liam dreaded the thought but he did this to himself every year so he should be used to it by now. Sharing one last kiss, he climbed off the bed and headed towards the kitchen while Zayn grabbed some clothes to go take a shower. 

Arthur was sitting on the floor with his phone in one hand and the other on Olivia's head that rested on his knee. She'd been a Christmas present to Arthur the year before, a rescue from the shelter where they volunteered once every couple of months. He'd been worried that it was too much responsibility for Arthur, but Zayn had convinced him the boy was ready and he'd been right. Arthur made sure she went for walks and was fed and always had a full water dish. He even reminded Liam when it was time for a vet's appointment. 

"Everything good?" Liam asked and Olivia scrambled to her feet and jumped on him, barking until Liam scratched behind her ears and baby-talked a little bit. Then she went back to her previous position on Arthur's knee. "What're you looking at?"

Arthur turned the phone toward him, showing a photograph of Cinderella's castle from Disney World in Florida. Liam recognized it from the trips his family had taken when he was a kid, but Arthur had never been there before and had recently become obsessed with the place. He'd hint and hint without flat out asking to be taken there so he and Zayn had decided to surprise him with a trip; they were leaving on Christmas Day. Liam's parents were coming with them and had managed to keep it a secret as well. Olivia would be staying with Stacey, who was in on the secret; in fact, Liam was amazed no one had given away the secret but after the way everyone had planned and conspired to surprise them the year before he shouldn't be surprised.

"I've been there," he said, grabbing a piece of toast and filling a cup with coffee.

"I know," Arthur huffed, shutting off the phone and putting it into his pocket. Pressing a kiss to the top of Olivia's head, he got to his feet. "I'll get the lists we made for shopping."

Liam watched him go, the sting of his attitude hurting a bit but he knew everything would be all better by Christmas Day when they arrived at the airport. Hearing the shower shut off, Liam poured a mug of coffee for Zayn and set it next to a fresh piece of toast for Zayn. They passed in the hallway with a quick kiss and by the time Zayn was done with his breakfast, Liam was dressed and chasing Arthur out the door and into the car.

Zayn leaned in the doorway, watching them drive away before he grabbed his own keys and headed for the bus stop. He watched the people around him, a mom bouncing a baby in her lap while reading to a toddler in the seat next to her and he wondered if that was what it was like for Stacey when Gwen was an infant. He couldn't imagine balancing two children that young at the same time; he struggled with Arthur but at the same time, he wondered what it would be like if there was another kid in the house. It wasn't something he'd discussed with Liam, but the other man had mentioned perhaps fostering in the future like his parents had and Zayn hadn't been averse to the idea.

The bus stopped and a teenage boy got on, his head shaved on both sides, the longer top dyed an electric blue and falling over his face. Piercings lined one ear and a singular hoop through his eyebrow made Zayn reach up to touch the industrial piercing he'd had done a few years earlier, earning a thumbs up from the teen. He wondered if Arthur would go through a punk stage like he had, horrifying his parents. He'd like to think Liam would be a lot more chill about it if he did and if he wasn't, Zayn was there to keep him calm. 

The bus stopped again and Zayn stood up to get off, stopping in front of the firehouse he'd looked up in Arthur's file. Moving inside, he reached into his rucksack, pulling out a copy of  _ Captain Fireproof.  _ He was only a few steps inside when one of the firemen approached him. "Can I help you?"

Zayn swallowed, clearing his throat as he said the words he'd practised the night before. "I'm looking for a firefighter."

"Well, you've come to the right place," the man said, giving Zayn a wink, flustering him as he continued, "but that ring on your finger says you're not exactly available."

"No! Not like that!" Zayn said, running a hand over his face and giggling uncomfortably. "His last name is Scotch. He might not even work here anymore, but he did eleven years ago and there was a fire-"

"You're looking for Cap? Hold on," the man said, holding up a finger and turning his head to shout, "Cap! Someone's here to see you!"

A few moments later, a man came down the steps from the upper level, drying his hands on a dishtowel, dressed in a fire department shirt and jeans. "You're looking for me?" he said, approaching Zayn and holding a hand out. Zayn took it to shake. "Captain Everett Scotch."

"Zayn Malik, sir."

"Just call me Rett," he said, gesturing towards an office area. "What can I help you with?"

"Well, eleven years ago, there was a fire. You rescued an infant, Arthur Hudson," he said, hoping the man remembered but for all he knew, the man had rescued thousands of infants in his career.

"Blue blanket, book," he said without hesitation. "Such a terrible thing. I always wondered what happened to that kid."

"I can help with that," Zayn said, pulling his phone out and pulling up a picture of Arthur and Liam and his parents and showing it to Rett. "He was put into fostering with this couple and later adopted by their son." He changed to a photo of him and Liam and Arthur. "My fiancé."

Rett took the phone and looked at the photo, smiling. "Man, he grew up good." He wiped at his eye. "I appreciate you letting me see this." He handed the phone back. "Was that all that you wanted?"

Handing over the graphic novel, his words were hesitant. "I created the character before I knew Arthur's story, but it was his father's publishing company that took a chance on an unknown artist and told me the entire story. So, if you look closely-"

"You named him Scotch?" He chuckled as he flipped through the pages, eyes scanning. "Stuart? Stuart Scotch. I don't hate it," he said with a shrug. "Nice looking guy. I'm honoured. Is this for me?"

"That one, yes." He pulled out another copy. "I was hoping you'd sign this one for Arthur."

"That kid doesn't want some old man's signature," he said, cheeks pinking.

"You're not just some old man. You're the man who saved his life," Zayn argued. "He would love to meet you, but I promised his father I'd talk to you first, not just spring him on you."

"Really?" Zayn nodded and opened his mouth to say more, but the siren blared through the station and Rett got to his feet. "Maybe after the holidays. Leave your number. I've got to run."

"Go be a hero," Zayn said to the empty space the man had left behind before scribbling his cell number on the back of a business card for the coffee shop and slipping it into the novel as well as a hurriedly scribbled invitation, leaving everything on the desk with a pat to the cover as he exited the office.

He stood back until the trucks were out of the station and then made his way back to the bus stop, checking his watch and seeing he had just enough time to swing by the coffee shop before heading off to lunch with Morgan. He knew that Liam and Arthur were off shopping so hopefully he could run up to Stacey's flat and wrap the presents he'd hidden there as well as grab the packages that Eowyn texted to say she'd be dropping off that morning; they were going to need them the next day.

Walking through the door, he found Harry behind the counter and Louis leaning against it, making heart eyes at each other. Lucas and Stacey were sitting on a sofa by the window, talking quietly while Gavin sat on the floor at their feet drawing. Niall and Bressie were in the armchairs by the fireplace, chatting and looking at fabric swatches. He was moving towards the door when there was a tug on his sleeve. 

"We have a quorum," he said, voice quiet and Zayn smiled down at the envelope he was holding in his hand, realizing that the boy hadn't had a turn opening envelopes because he wouldn't speak up around the other kids.

"You wanna open it?" He nodded and Zayn took his hand, leading him back to the centre of the room and called everyone over. 

Gavin ducked his head and sat on the sofa between Stacey and Lucas, opening the envelope carefully and pulling out the drawing inside of it, giggling when he saw it. He showed it to Stacey first and then Lucas, both of them shaking their heads in confusion. He held it out to Zayn who took it, looking down at the drawing of a comb. Smirking he passed it to Harry.

"A comb?" Louis said, looking over his shoulder. "I swear, we were better gift-givers last year."

Niall shook his head, laughing. "That was different; we had lots of givers and a couple of recipients. This is probably only one giver and a bunch of recipients, but I do think it's trying to give us a message. I just can't figure out who it is or what they're saying."

The alarm went off on Zayn's phone and he said his goodbyes while Gavin used Stacey's phone to take a photo of the board to send to the group chat. He took two steps out when the bus rumbled past and he dropped his head, pulling out his phone to text Morgan he would be late. 

"What's wrong?" Bressie asked, stepping up next to him. 

"Missed my bus," he said. "Gonna be late for a lunch date."

"We can give you a ride," he said as Niall came out carrying two to-go cups. 

Pocketing his phone without sending the message he gave them a grateful smile, following them to Bressie's rental. He climbed into the backseat, squished next to bags from the home decor store not far from the coffee shop. "You're all ready to start moving in, aren't you?"

"Absolutely," Niall said, turned around in his seat to smile at Zayn. "So, what do you and Liam want us to come to?" he asked and Zayn choked.

"What? How?" Zayn asked.

"Liam and I used to watch  _ Concentration _ all the time on our lunch breaks," Niall told him. "I recognized what was going on after the axe."

"What was all that in the shop, then? About not knowing who or what was going on?"

Niall shrugged. "I didn't want to ruin the fun for everyone else." Bressie let out a bark of laughter as Niall turned to look out the front window of the car while Zayn gave directions to Bressie.

Liam followed Arthur around the mall, going in and out of stores trying to find the perfect gift for Zayn. Everything they picked up, they ruled out for one reason or another and between the crowds and their failure to figure out what they were going to buy, Liam was developing a headache. They'd gotten the text with the photo of the board but Arthur seemed just as clueless as all the days before, but Liam caught him mouthing the words to himself several times while they moved through the stores. 

They were walking past a suit store when Arthur stopped walking and stared at the grey suits in the window. "When are you and Baba getting married?"

Liam choked on his next breath. "Why do you ask?" Arthur shrugged. "No, c'mon, what's going on inside your brain?"

"We've been engaged for almost a year, I thought you'd be married by now and we'd be a family," he said. "That he'd be my Baba for real."

Tugging Arthur by the arm, he led him over to a bench between a couple of the stores, sitting down so they could face each other. "He is your Baba for real, whether or not we're married. Where is this coming from?"

Arthur fiddled with his fingers in his lap, refusing to look up at Liam. "Do you remember when Kelly was in the hospital?" Liam nodded, the teen had an emergency appendectomy a few months earlier and had been in the hospital for a couple of days to recover. "Stacey and G2 couldn't visit her because they weren't family for real." Liam did remember that and it had bothered Gwen a lot but he hadn't realized that it had bothered Arthur as well. "And Baba couldn't pick me up from school when they had that emergency dismissal."

Liam wanted to tell Arthur everything to assure him, but as he thought about it even after Zayn and Liam were married, Zayn still wouldn't legally be Arthur's parent. He had been thinking about asking if Zayn would be interested in adopting Arthur after the wedding but wasn't sure how the little boy would react, now he knew it was something that Arthur would be interested in and he suddenly had a great idea for Zayn's Christmas present. Now, he just had to get Arthur's mind off of all this seriousness and finish shopping.

"How about we talk to Baba about the wedding after the holidays? I bet he'd want to start planning," Liam suggested and Arthur smiled and nodded, seeming relieved that there was a plan. "Now, I have an idea for Baba's gift."

Morgan was already seated when Zayn walked into the cafe. She had the family tree on the table in front of her and greeted him with a wide smile. "Where's Jordan?" he asked as he took a seat across from her after greeting her with a hug and a light kiss on the cheek.

"He got called into work," she explained, starting to unroll the family tree. "He said to tell you he was really sorry."

"Not a problem," Zayn told her. "I'm glad you were willing to meet me. I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh," she said, smile fading a little and hand stilling over the paper. "Sure. What's going on?"

"How did you do all of this?" he asked, gesturing to the tree. "Where did you start?"

Her smile was back as she started talking about the different websites she looked through and she pulled her laptop out of her bag to show them to Zayn, fingers flying over the keys as he moved to sit in the seat next to her. They paused long enough to order and then went back to her explanations. After she was done and the food had been delivered, he moved back to the seat across from her. They ate in relative silence, Zayn's mind reeling. 

"I can give you this copy of the family tree so you don't have to do any of the work? Or were you going to research your father's family?" she asked when they were done eating.

"Actually, I wanted to research my fiancé's son's family. You met them at the coffee shop, remember?" She nodded and pulled her laptop out again. "His parents died in a fire when he was an infant and after you finding me he's been asking if he has any family out there."

"Let me help you get started," She offered. "I really love doing this stuff. What information do you have?" He gave her Arthur's birth and parents' names and her hands froze over the keyboard and she stared at him over the top of the laptop screen. "I"m sorry. Did you say Hudson? Christopher and Anna?" Zayn nodded and she shoved the laptop over so suddenly, Zayn had to move fast to catch it before it fell off the edge of the table.

"What's going on? What's wrong?" Zayn asked.

Morgan's smile was wider than he'd yet to see it and something in Zayn's chest tightened, a spark of excitement that he didn't dare to hope held merit as she fully unrolled the family tree to reveal another side of the family. Her finger hovered for just a second before landing on a branch of the tree. Following her movement, his eyes read over the words and he couldn't stop the tears that sprang to his eyes.


	7. Tuesday - December 24th - Christmas Eve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Christmas Eve!
> 
> I hope everyone has a great day however they are spending it! I'm with my kids and my mum today (with yummy dinner at Outback Steakhouse) so I'm chilling and working on writing and just generally enjoying the day.
> 
> One more chapter after this! Are you all ready?
> 
> xx-Joey

Zayn woke up before the alarm he and Liam had set the night before. Checking the time, he noted there was still three hours before Eowyn was arriving to help them get ready for the events of the day. Smiling, he climbed out of bed and padded into the kitchen, pausing as he passed Arthur's bedroom. Olivia raised her head as he did, having slept in Arthur's empty bed after the boy had spent the night at his grandparents' the night before at Liam's request. He’d wanted to be able to talk to Zayn privately about the news he’d gotten from Morgan.

When he'd gotten home, Zayn and Liam worked together to scan the family tree and shrink it down to break it into workable pieces so they could frame them and arrange them on Arthur's wall, crossing their fingers that the boy would like the gift when he got home that night, although it would probably be late by the time they got done with the found family Christmas party at the coffee shop, a tradition they'd started the year before when all of their friends and family had tricked Zayn and Liam into coming to the coffee shop for Arthur's surprise proposal. 

The shop was open until noon, Conor agreed to work so that Harry could be off until the party. Instead, Harry had offered to cook for the party with Louis helping him out. Stacey and Lucas and the kids were having lunch with Lucas' late wife's parents. Niall and Bressie were painting at their new house and had offered to ride over to the coffee shop, but Liam and Zayn had begged off in order to maintain the surprise they'd been working so hard to keep. 

"Did you remind Harry to bring his camera?" Liam asked as he came into the kitchen, scratching at the hair on his bare chest, a smile on his face as he pulled Zayn into a hug, running his hands over his back.

"You really asking about Harry when we have the house to ourselves?" Zayn teased.

"Didn't you get enough last night?" Liam asked, fingers pressing under the neckline of Zayn's vest, unerringly finding the hickey he'd left the night before once they'd finally gotten into bed, taking advantage of the only time alone they'd had in recent days.

"Never," Zayn told him, taking him by the hand and pulling him back towards the bedroom, closing the door when Olivia tried to follow them inside.

They woke up when there was pounding on the front door and Zayn's phone started buzzing enough to fall off the nightstand, Olivia's barking echoing up and down the hall as she made a path between the front door and their bedroom door. Picking up his phone, Zayn shot up in bed. "Eowyn's here!" he yelled, startling Liam awake.

Grabbing a pair of pants, he struggled to pull them on as he raced to let her in, tripping over Olivia as he went and barely managing to stop himself from face-planting by slamming his hands against the walls of the hallway. He finally made it to the door, pulling it open and staring at Eowyn who stood there wearing a flowing grey dress that swirled around her calves in sparkles. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a twist and her makeup was subtle; he barely recognized his friend. 

She laughed, looking him up and down. "I should've known not to trust the two of you alone. Go shower." Zayn wiggled his eyebrows and she shoved him. "Separately!"

"You got it!" he said, hurrying down the hall as she let herself in, carrying the two garment bags over her shoulders as well as the duffel bag carrying the pieces of hand-painted silk she'd had at her store that Liam had been looking at the other day. 

Once their showers were done, Eowyn gave them each a garment bag and pointed Liam towards Arthur's room and Zayn towards theirs. "Get yourselves dressed. We're running out of time."

Liam and Zayn stood in the back of the shop, peeking through the window of the door as Eowyn walked through the front of the shop, an envelope in her hand. Everyone's heads turned towards her and Arthur approached slowly, holding a hand out for the envelope. 

"Are you the Christmas Angel?" he asked her and she shook her head. 

"You look like one today," Karen told her.

"Thank you, Miss Karen," she said, smiling at Arthur who was studying the envelope in his hand. 

"We should wait for Papa and Baba," he said.

"No, go ahead and open it," Eowyn told him. "They’re parking the car and will be here in a second."

"So we should wait," Arthur argued, the stubborn set of his brow making Liam smile and panic briefly.

Stacey approached Arthur and touched the envelope. "If Eowyn says you should open it, you should open it," she said. "You know Eowyn's always right." 

After a moment, Arthur nodded and started opening the envelope, Gwen and Gavin moving closer as he did. Eowyn moved over to Harry whispering in his ear; he gave her a strange look but lifted his camera, taking off the lens cap and holding it at the ready while Eowyn handed a video camera to Louis and directed him to start filming. 

"It's another two," Arthur said, holding up the polaroid of a number two from the address painted on the front of the coffee shop. He moved over to the board, adding it under the last pin. "Baba. Papa. Axe. Sheep. Two. Comb. Two. I don't get it," he said. "I think it's a puzzle, like that _Concentration_ game, but I don't get it."

"I think you're right," Karen said from where she was sitting next to Geoff, smiling and leaning into him. "I see Zayn and Liam ask, but then I'm not sure." Geoff's smile was proud as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

"The bow on the sheep," Kelly said. "It's a female sheep. Those are ewe's right?" she asked her father who nodded. "So, like 'you'. Zayn and Liam ask you to..."

"Comb?" Gwen asked. "What are we going to comb?"

Liam had to cover his mouth to hold in the giggle that threatened to escape at the look of utter confusion on the young girl's face. Stacey was in much the same position, her face buried in Lucas' shoulder, the man looking nearly as perplexed as the children. 

"Come," Gavin said, his voice so quiet, Liam and Zayn almost missed it but they exchanged looks of pride. He might be the youngest of the children but he was certainly the best puzzle solver they had.

"What?" Niall asked, grinning as he elbowed Bressie, whose grin grew as he looked at the board again.

"Comb. Come. They're close," Gavin responded with a small shrug.

"Zayn and Liam ask you to come to..." Harry said. "It makes sense, but we’re out of days and the sentence isn't finished."

"Oh my, you're right," Eowyn said, smiling and holding out a small box to Arthur. "Maybe the answer is in here."

"Gavin, you got the hardest clue. You open it," he said, handing over the box and mirroring the small boy's smile as he tore into the paper and pulled open the box inside to reveal a small green bell with the words _Ring for Magic_ painted on it. Shrugging he rang the bell and everyone looked around the shop.

"That's our cue," Liam said, holding one end of the sign Eowyn had painted for them and started pushing through the door, Zayn next to him, holding the other side.

"You rang?" Zayn said, smiling as everyone turned their heads towards them, eyes roving over the sign and their faces all falling into expressions varying between knowing and shock.

"Our wedding," Arthur read out loud, his smile getting so big it had to hurt. "You're getting married? Right now?" he asked, bouncing on his toes and as soon as Liam nodded, he threw himself at the men. They dropped the sign and pulled him up into a hug, Harry snapping photos and everyone taking that as their cue to approach.

"Who's going to marry you?" Karen asked.

"I am," Eowyn announced. "I've been ordained for about two years so when Liam and Zayn approached me to help them plan this surprise, I was able to offer my services."

"You're so sneaky!" Arthur told them. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"We wanted it to be a surprise," Zayn told him. "Plus, we wanted to try to make up for all the wonderful things all of you did for us last year." He looked up to see Kelly frowning and looking at Lucas who had his hands shoved in his pockets looking uncomfortable. Zayn bumped Liam's arm and jerked his chin towards them.

"I think we aren't the only ones with a surprise," Liam said. "Lucas?" 

"What?"

"Dad, just do it," Kelly said, smiling at Liam and Zayn.

"I'm not going to steal-"

"It's not stealing our thunder. It's just making a bigger memory," Liam told him, taking Zayn's hand and squeezing it as Lucas approached Stacey and Kelly approached Gwen and Gavin. 

"Stacey," Lucas said when he reached her, taking her hands in his and Kelly took one of each of the kids’ hands in hers, smiling down at them. "I fell in love with you the moment I met you and each moment since I've fallen more in love with you and your children."

"Gwen and Gavin," Kelly said, smiling at her father before looking at the kids who kept looking between their mom and Kelly, teeth digging into their lower lips. "I thought you were pains in the bum when I first met you, but now I think of you as my brother and sister."

Kelly and Lucas exchanged a look before kneeling down and looking up at the people they were talking to. "Will you marry us?"

Stacey's hand came up to cover her mouth, tears pouring out of her eyes as Gwen shouted, "Yes!" loudly enough that the dogs started barking and howling while Gavin moved away from Kelly and over to Lucas, placing a hand on his shoulder until he looked at him. "You'll be my dad?" 

Arthur looked over at Liam and Zayn who were blinking back their own tears as Lucas answered, "Only if you want me to be."

Gavin stepped away from Lucas and the tension in the room ratcheted up as he tugged on Stacey's arm until she leaned down so he could whisper in her ear, a smile slowly growing on her face as she listened to him. When he dropped the hand that had been hiding his mouth, Stacey asked him if he was sure and Gavin glanced at his sister who hadn't stopped nodding her head since the questions had been asked before turning back to his mother and nodding as well. 

Putting an arm around Gavin, she gestured for Stacey and Kelly to come over by her, Gwen taking Gavin's hand while Stacey pulled Kelly under her other arm before they all turned to Lucas who was still kneeling on the floor with the ring box held out in front of him. "We say, 'yes.'"

A cheer went up through the coffee shop, the dogs barking and jumping around the feet of all of the suddenly hugging people. Tears were being shed and plans were starting to be made and it wasn't until Arthur climbed on top of one of the sofas, cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "Hey, everybody!" that the commotion calmed down. 

Once everyone's eyes were on him, Arthur nodded his head towards Liam and Zayn. "We have a wedding to do," he reminded and Lucas started to apologize for taking the attention away from their big surprise.

"No need," Zayn told him. "I think that was a perfect addition to our wedding. Maybe next year it'll be your turn and someone else," everyone turned to look at Louis and Harry, "will get engaged."

"Too late," Harry said, holding up a hand to show a small golden band around his ring finger and Louis mirrored the movement to show a matching ring. Everyone started to move towards them, but they stepped backwards hands up in a defensive manner. "Nope. Congratulations later. Wedding now."

“Before we get started, the boys have items for each of you," Eowyn said, rubbing her hands together, a bright smile on her face. 

Liam and Zayn exited into the back, coming back in with boxes they set on one of the tables. From the first box, they pulled out several small clear plastic containers of boutonnieres and corsages to pass out to each of the attendants. There were also small sprigs of flowers to attach to each of the dogs' collars so that they wouldn't be left out. The second box contained glass tumblers engraved with Liam and Zayn's names and the date, along with three bottles of champagne and one bottle of sparkling apple cider. 

Karen approached Liam to pin on his boutonniere while Stacey helped Zayn with his, patting his lapels and pressing a kiss to his cheek. They were preparing to stand in front of Eowyn when someone tapped on the glass of the front door of the shop. Turning they saw Morgan and Jordan waving at them, Jenna in a carrier against Jordan's chest. Zayn looked over at Liam who whistled nonchalantly and looked away, pink blooming over his cheekbones. "Sneaky bugger," Zayn said as he hurried to the door and Eowyn brought out another set of flowers including a plastic rattle shaped like a flower for Jenna.

"You were going to get married without us?" Morgan teased before leaning in to whisper, "Did you tell him yet?" Zayn shook his head and she nodded, understanding on her face. "Just let me know if you do."

"When," Zayn corrected. "I'll let you know _when_ we do."

He was shutting the door when he saw someone else approaching, tugging on the bottom of his dress uniform. "Am I late?" Rett asked, gesturing to the woman hurrying to follow him. "This is my wife, Katelyn. Thank you for inviting us to this."

"Just glad you could make it," he said, opening the door wider and letting them in ahead of him. Liam glanced up, eyes widening when he saw Rett. Eowyn seemed to produce another set of flowers magically from the box, giving them to Rett and Katelyn.

"It's a party!" Gwen said and Arthur nodded, approaching Rett carefully. 

"Are you a firefighter?" he asked and Rett nodded, tears already springing to his eyes as he did. "Are you _my_ firefighter?" Another nod and then he threw his arms around Rett, thanking him for saving his life. More tears fell as Karen and Geoff and Liam joined the hug, Katelyn watching from a few steps away. Zayn passed her a tissue, smiling when she thanked him.

It was another half an hour before everything settled down enough for the ceremony to start. Eowyn opened with the typical, "Dearly beloved," but switched to letting Zayn and Liam take the reins by reading their own vows to each other. They'd discussed whether or not they would do their own finally deciding it would make the ceremony even more their own. They'd both struggled to write them but refused to give up before it was done.

"Last year, we both had some pretty good speeches we used for our proposals," Zayn started, "so, I hope I can come close to that today. When I first saw you and Arthur come into the shop, you caught all of my attention but I had no idea what that one moment would lead to or how much you would come to mean to me." He grinned at Arthur who they had brought to stand between them because this wedding was as much for him as the two of them.

"If I had known then what I know now, I'm not sure I would've been able to stop myself from approaching you and maybe we would've gotten together sooner or maybe I would've completely blown any chance I had of winning your hearts. The what if's don't matter though, what matters is that we did end up meeting, we did end up falling in love and we did end up standing here together, becoming a family." He looked away from Liam to everyone gathered in the shop, parts of their lives for a long time and a short time but each and every one of them important in their own right. "A family with a core of three but growing each and every day that we spend together and I promise you, Liam, and you, Arthur, and all of you that I will live every day that I am graced with from this day forward making sure you know just how much you mean to me."

Liam used his free hand to wipe at his eyes before clearing his throat. His lips moved but words weren't coming at first so he cleared his throat again and took a deep breath. Arthur reached out and placed a hand over Liam and Zayn's joined hands and looked up at his father with a big grin on his face, which appeared to be just what Liam's brain needed to form words.

"My life has never been what most people would call traditional. I grew up with a rotating roster of foster siblings coming in and out of my house, important for the duration they were allowed to stay. When our youngest foster came to us, my heart was stolen without my even noticing." He smiled at Arthur before looking up at Rett who had his wife's arm wrapped in his, smile tight with tears. "When life threw a curveball and tried to take him, I found strength and bravery I didn't know I had and chose to become a young, single father. My family supported me even though everyone else thought I was insane."

"You are, Papa," Arthur said, laughter rippling through the room. The tension in Liam's shoulders loosened. "Two years ago, my son started showing signs of my special brand of insanity when he grew attached to a faceless man that gave us a drawing. His determination led to the three of us standing here becoming a family," Liam said, smiling down at Arthur as he continued with, " _for real._ And I vow to spend every second of every day that I'm fortunate enough to remain on this earth, appreciating the gift that I've been given by having the both of you... _all of you_...in my life."

Eowyn opened her mouth to continue the ceremony, but Arthur cleared his throat and gave her an expectant look. Smiling, she gestured to him to take the floor. "I know that I'm only eleven, but I think in my short life I've learned a lot about family," he started. "I had a mom and a dad that I will never remember except for stories I'm told and pictures in albums." He looked over his shoulder at Karen and Geoff. "I only barely remember Grandma and Grandpa being my mom and dad, but I know that they love me as Grandma and Grandpa." He grinned up at Liam. "My Papa is the one I remember most as being there for me and loving me even when I was being a brat." The room laughed and Liam reached out to cup Arthur's face.

"You are _not_ a brat," he said, voice serious but lips quirked into a smile.

"Yeah, sometimes I am," Arthur argued. "Then we met Baba who went from being a friend to so much more. We became a family. My family." He turned back to the entire room and held his arms out to encompass the entire coffee shop. "Our family." He smiled at Morgan and Rett. "People come into it and it grows, our hearts grow to make room and even if people leave..." He looks at Niall and Bressie who sat up, looking surprised. "They stay in our hearts so they have a place to come back to when fate allows them."

He turned back to Eowyn, grinning. "I promise, and I think everyone here promises, that we will love this family and this marriage forever." A murmur of agreement went through the gathered people and everyone stood to move closer to Liam and Zayn, hands being joined in an arc around them.

Eowyn laid a hand on each of the grooms' shoulders, smiling. "Well, I don't think I can top that, so by the power vested in me by the Universal Life Church, I now pronounce you husband and husband for as long as your spirits grace this plane and the next." Dropping her hands, she stepped back. "You may now kiss your husband."

A laughing sob escaped Zayn and Liam pulled him into a kiss, the adults in the room cheering while the kids all gagged but rushed forward and threw their arms around the married pair. Jenna wailed at the noise and Gavin broke away from the group hug to pick up her white flower rattle, shaking it just out of Jenna's reach, cooing and singing to her. Stacey laid a hand on his shoulder, smiling down at him as the kiss behind them broke. 

"Do you like the baby?" Stacey asked Gavin and he nodded. Stacey let out a heavy breath and glanced at Lucas who was smiling as he approached and pulled her into a hug. "Well, that's good news," she said, kissing Lucas and Kelly's jaw dropped but Eowyn was speaking before anything could be said.

"Alright, now that the ceremony is over, we have food in the back for a celebratory dinner and then the gift exchange so that the little ones can get home and wait for Santa's arrival," she announced before she led Karen, Stacey, and Harry into the back to bring the food out to lay along the counter. Louis fiddled with the stereo in the corner, blasting Christmas music through the store, startling everyone. A crash sounded from the kitchen and Louis winced, apologizing quietly as he turned down the volume to save everyone’s hearing and conversations could be held without shouting.

"I am so happy for you," Karen said, coming up and cupping Zayn's cheeks in her hands. "I could not have picked a better man for my son or to be my son."

Zayn's tears fell freely as he allowed himself to be pulled into a hug. "Thank you, mum," he said, squeezing her tightly. When she let him go, Geoff pulled him in as well. "Dad," he said, smiling.

"Son," Geoff said back, the one word expressing everything the man couldn't seem to say.

The celebration went on, all the food is eaten in a flurry of laughter and conversation. Everyone insisted that Liam and Zayn have one dance together until they gave in and swayed to _Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas._ Arthur joined in halfway through as the rest of the group surrounded them in a circle of joined hands. 

The party started wrapping up after the dance. Morgan and Jordan were the first to leave, Jenna asleep in her carrier, drooling on Jordan’s shirt. They’d made plans to get together in January. While Zayn and Liam made their rounds, Arthur sat with Rett and his wife for a half an hour talking and laughing and getting to know each other. As they got to their feet, pulling on their coats to leave for dinner with their children and grandchildren, they invited Arthur and his fathers to come over for dinner to meet their family after the holidays were over. Arthur excitedly agreed before remembering to ask Liam and Zayn who gladly gave their okay before the older couple left as well.

Once it was down to the core group, presents were exchanged and opened quickly as it was getting late and everyone had places to be. Gwen nodded off in the middle of the floor, her new doll wrapped in her arms as she lay with the dogs who were chewing on their new toys. Cleaning up the mess they'd made, everyone gathered their stuff together to get ready to leave and head to their respective homes, aside from Karen and Geoff who were going to spend the night at Liam and Zayn's house to share Christmas morning with Arthur and leave for the airport with them in the afternoon.

Harry and Louis took a copy of the house key so they could come to take care of Olivia while they were in Florida and then headed off for the drive to spend the next day with Louis’ family in Doncaster. Harry didn’t know it, but Louis had told him that he’d invited his fiancé's family to spend the holiday as well so they could officially announce the engagement. Zayn was glad to see the two settled and happy; they were both good men who had been there for him through some of the hardest times of his life.

Lucas carried Gwen up to Stacey’s flat while Gavin and Kelly followed with the gifts and Reggie, their dog. Arthur held Olivia’s leash to keep her from following. Stacey hugged everyone before making her way upstairs as well, blushing when Zayn laid a hand on her stomach with a questioning raise of his eyebrows. The nod was subtle but he caught it and gave her an extra hug, whispering that her secret was safe with him but Liam’s knowing look when their eyes met told him it wasn’t the best-kept secret of the century.

Niall and Bressie hugged everyone and gave Arthur a special thank you for including them in the vows, along with an open invitation for him and Olivia to come to their house anytime they wanted. Arthur then took Karen’s hand and lead her out the door of the shop to where Geoff was waiting in the car; he was going to ride back to the house with his grandparents. Once they were gone, the Irishmen hurried to their rental to get to the airport for their flight to Ireland to spend Christmas Day with their families before starting to pack up their flat there for the big move.

Once they were alone in the shop, Zayn and Liam went to stand in front of the Christmas Tree to take a selfie that they were going to use for the cover of their wedding album. It was while they were checking over the photo that they noticed something on the tree behind them. Turning, Liam reached in and removed the box with the large red bow. The tag on top was addressed to  _ Misters Malik-Payne _ in flowing handwriting and they exchanged a grin, only one person knew for certain they were getting married that day. Eowyn must have placed it in the branches before she’d slipped out without a goodbye, something she was fond of doing.

Pulling one end of the ribbon, it loosened and fell to the ground as Liam wiggled the top off the box, letting out a quiet gasp at the ceramic bulb nestled inside tissue paper that was revealed. Picking it up gently by the golden cord through the top, it spun slowly as it hung from his hand. Written in black lettering on one side was:  _ There are friends and there is family. Then there are the friends that become family. _ Surrounding the lettering in gold were the names of their families, blood and found, including Morgan and Jordan and Jenna as well as Rett and Katelyn whose name they hadn’t even learned until that day. 

Zayn picked up the tag that had fallen to the floor and flipped it over, revealing handwriting similar to that on the ornament that said:  _ From The Real Christmas Angel _ . “It has to be Eowyn,” he muttered but even he wasn’t sure as he took the ornament, smiling at the tiny golden tag hanging from the cord that he hadn’t noticed until that moment. Twisting it to look at it, he saw that day’s date engraved into it and he knew it was the perfect souvenir for their wedding.

Tapping at the window drew their attention and they turned to see Arthur waving at them and pointing to the sky above him where snow was starting to fall slowly to the ground. “I think we need to get moving,” Liam said, putting the ornament back into the box and cradling it gently in the crook of his arm before offering Zayn his other hand and tugging him towards the door. 


	8. Wednesday - December 25th - Christmas Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas!!!!
> 
> Thank you to everyone for your comments and encouragements, they have meant the absolute world to me!
> 
> May your holidays be blessed with health and happiness and all of your heart's desires!
> 
> xx-Joey

Liam could hear Arthur in the hallway talking to his grandma, his voice an excited whisper that grew in volume with each word that passed through his mouth. He smiled as he listened to him describe the pile of presents waiting for him in the sitting room; although the boy knew now that the gifts came from him and Zayn, it thankfully didn't dampen his excitement for Christmas morning.

"Too early," Zayn mumbled from where his face was buried in Liam's chest; they'd fallen asleep talking the night before, trading plans for the upcoming couple of weeks away.

"Not too early when we have a plane to catch in..." He trailed off looking over at the clock on the nightstand. "Five hours." 

"Shit," Zayn muttered, pushing himself up enough to press a kiss to Liam's nose. "Let's get moving, husband."

"In a minute, husband," Liam whispered, kissing him gently, dry lips brushing and catching as they relaxed into each other, pulling apart when the door to their bedroom opened and Olivia came racing in to jump on the bed, followed by Arthur. Karen and Geoff stood in the door, each of them holding two mugs of coffee in their hands.

Arthur was bouncing up and down on the bed, but grew serious after a couple of giggles. “I saw the frames on my wall.”

“Did you understand them?” Liam asked.

“It looks like parts of a family tree and I saw my parents and I in one frame,” he responded. “Another had Morgan, Jenna, and Jordan.” Liam nodded as Arthur looked at Zayn. “Then you,  _ Baba, _ and your family in another.”

“That’s right,” Zayn told him. “Do you know that that means?”

“That we’re blood family?” he asked, his voice so hopeful that it brought tears to Liam’s eyes.

“Yes,” Zayn choked out, his own face damp with tears.

“I love you,  _ Baba! _ ” Arthur shouted, throwing his arms around Zayn’s neck, the both of them sobbing.

Liam held Olivia in his lap, the pup struggling to get to her boy in distress. Finally, Arthur pulled back and cuddled Olivia, the dog licking away his tears and whimpering softly until Arthur started laughing again. “Now, we’re family for real!”

“Absolutely,” Zayn agreed.

“Actually,” Liam said and twin pairs of hazel eyes turned to him; it was a wonder they didn’t already know the two of them were at least distantly related before this. “You’re blood family, but…” He trailed off as he stretched to reach into the nightstand drawer to pull out a manilla folder with a red bow stuck to the front.

He handed it to Zayn who took it with furrowed brows. Opening it, his eyes scanned the papers inside. Arthur stretched to read as well, his lips moving with some of the legal words that would be unfamiliar to him and Liam’s heart warmed as he watched his son and his husband in concentration.

“You want me to adopt Arthur?” Zayn asked, much in the same tone Arthur had used earlier and Arthur ripped the folder away, eyes wide and reading more intently.

“I would,” Liam said reaching for Zayn’s hand. “But only if you want to. No take backs if we do this.”

“As if there was ever any ‘take back,’” he quipped through wet eyes and turned his attention to Arthur, noticing for the first time Geoff and Karen leaning into each other up in the doorway with tears streaming down the cheeks. “Arthur, do you want me to adopt you?”

“More than anything!” Arthur said, tackling Zayn. Olivia jumped into the mix and Zayn reached out to pull Liam in as well, sneaking in a kiss and whispered, “I love you.”

After a quick snuggle and tussle with Olivia and Arthur, everyone climbed off the bed, Liam and Zayn collecting their mugs and following Arthur into the sitting room where he nearly dove into the pile of presents underneath the tree. "I swear that grew since we laid them out last night," Liam observed.

"Always seems to," Zayn countered, settling onto the sofa, pulling Liam down next to him. Karen and Geoff squeezed in on either side of them. "Alright, go ahead," Zayn said to Arthur who was sitting with a small present in his lap, fingers tapping over the edges of the paper eagerly, tearing as soon as Zayn said the words.

The presents were opened and set aside quickly as Arthur's expression got more thoughtful and his movements slower as the summer clothing and sunscreen were revealed. He started stacking everything and looking at them for a long moment before moving on to the next one. There were only two boxes left and Liam got up to go into the bedroom to grab another one. He returned quickly to see Arthur open the very last package for him that had been under the tree. The paper fell away and he reached in and pulled out a snow globe.

"It's Cinderella's castle," Arthur said, his voice awed but his lips turning down as he shook the globe to make it snow. His fingers brushed the button on the bottom and it began to play the tune  _ A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes.  _ Arthur hummed along as he carefully stood and carried the globe over to the bookshelves built into the wall behind the television. Moving a couple of books, he created the perfect nook for the globe to be displayed.

"Thank you, everyone," Arthur said as he turned back with a grin. He moved around the room to hug everyone, giving his thanks. His tone was genuine, but Liam knew his son well enough to hear the bit of sad undercurrent.

"You forgot one," Liam told him, holding out the box he'd carried in from the bedroom.

Taking the box, Arthur remained standing to open the flat box which was the right size to hold a wallet. When he got it open he pulled out a brown leather wallet with the Peter Pan quote,  _ "To live will be an awfully big adventure," _ burnt into it. Confused, Arthur opened the wallet and found a photo of himself staring back at him. "Is this a passport?" he asked as he flipped through the stiff, empty pages.

"It is," Liam told him.

"Why do I have a passport?" he asked. "Am I going somewhere?"

Liam looked at Zayn who reached behind the cushions of the sofa and pulled out a set of Mickey Mouse ears, settling them on Arthur's head, the ears were Zayn's from a trip when he was much younger and had his name embroidered on the back. "We're going somewhere," he answered.

"Are we going to Disney World?" Arthur whispered, his eyes wide and hopeful. When Liam nodded, he let out a screech that set Olivia off barking and bumping her head against his legs until he threw himself at his fathers, hugging them and crying and laughing all at once.

"Okay, we need to get moving. The Addison Lee will be here to take us to the airport soon," Liam said, pressing a kiss to the top of Arthur's head.

"We're going today?" he asked, voice completely breathless with awe. 

"We're going today," Zayn assured him.

"What about Olivia?" Arthur asked, kneeling to wrap his arms around the puppy, her tail wagging slower and head tilted in confusion at the sudden mood shift.

"Louis and Harry are going to be taking care of her when they get back from Doncaster and until then Eowyn is going to come to stay with her." As if Liam's words had summoned her, there was a knock at the front door. "Why don't you go put all of your new clothes into your suitcase and grab whatever else you might need."

Zayn opened the door and let Eowyn in; he'd been surprised when she'd offered to spend the day with Olivia, but he knew that she had no family, so maybe he shouldn't have been. "Hi, Christmas Angel," he greeted as he pulled open the door, her enigmatic smile a familiar and welcome presence. 

"Good morning, newlywed," she said, stepping into the house and putting her bag down just inside the doorway. "Is Arthur excited?"

"Disney World!" Arthur screamed from somewhere inside the house and they both chuckled as Liam came into the room, pulling the two suitcases they'd had hidden in their closet for the last week, as well as a carryon over his shoulder.

"Just a little excited," Liam said, leaning in to press a kiss to Eowyn's cheek as he stacked the bags by the door. "Can't blame him; I'm feeling the same way."

Geoff came into the room with his own suitcase with his and Karen's clothes in them. They were joining them for the trip to Disney World and then bringing Arthur home while Liam and Zayn took a few extra days for their honeymoon, something they'd discussed and arranged the night before after coming home from the wedding. It had only taken a little bit of manoeuvring to change their tickets so they could stay in Florida. "Do you have everything?" Liam asked and Geoff nodded.

"Yes, son, just like the last twelve times you asked," he teased. "Everything is going to be perfect, although I think I saw Arthur trying to get Olivia to climb into his suitcase."

Liam groaned and turned to go to the bedroom but Eowyn stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Let me take care of this," she said, kneeling down and reaching into her bag, pulling out a small wrapped gift and a bright blue plastic bone, flipping it in her hand as she stood up and raced out of the room on bare feet. There was a commotion of barking and shouting that evolved into laughter. The cab was pulling up in front of the house just as Arthur came out of his room with his own suitcase in one hand and a backpack over his shoulders. In his arm was a stuffed white boxer with black ears that looked almost exactly like Olivia right down to her collar. 

"Look what Eowyn gave me!" he said as he pulled his suitcase out of the house and down the walk, the adults falling into step behind him.

The ride to the airport took longer than expected due to the holiday traffic so they were rushing around the terminal once they arrived and getting through security quickly and then sat in the lounge waiting for their flight to be called. Arthur was cuddling Olivia Junior or O.J. as he'd taken to call the stuffed dog and telling Geoff and Karen everything he wanted to do at Disney World and listening excitedly as they shared stories of going with Liam and his sisters when they were kids as well as some of the foster kids before Arthur.

Liam frowned when Karen forgot the names of some of the kids but the smile returned when she would laugh and share a memory from when Liam was young with such vividness that Liam could picture it. Zayn looped his arm through Liam's and leaned against his shoulder. "Love you, husband," he whispered. 

"Love you, too," Liam responded, pressing a kiss to the top of Zayn's head as Arthur jumped up and ran over to them, a big grin on his face. "Excited?" The boy nodded and threw his arms around them both and despite him being nearly a teenager and growing taller every day, Liam hoisted him up so he sat on his hip across from Zayn for a proper cuddle.

"I know what I want for Christmas next year," he told them, laying his head on Liam's shoulder and grinning at Zayn.

"What's that, buddy?" Zayn asked, tweaking the tip of his nose.

"I want to become fosters," Arthur told him. "I want to do what Grandma and Grandpa did for me."

Zayn's eyes widened and filled with tears as he gazed at Liam who was in a similar state. Both of them nodded their heads without even saying a word and then squeezed Arthur tighter. "It's a lot of work to be fosters," Liam told him. "It's not something Santa can bring."

"I know that," Arthur said. "I'll help and I'll be an awesome big brother."

Liam chuckled and reached up with one hand to wipe away the tears that were streaming down Zayn's cheeks. "Well, with an offer like that, I'm in," he said.

Zayn laughed and buried his face in Liam's chest, his own mind going over how much his life has changed in just a few years and now his family was going to grow even bigger and he couldn't be happier. "I guess we're all in this together," he added, his laughter overpowering his tears as Arthur let out a cheer that Liam echoed and Zayn didn't hesitate to join. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've made it to the end!!!! I hope that everyone who read this story this year and all of the previous years has enjoyed the world created in Zayn's coffee shop. I am sad to announce that this will most likely be the last official instalment of the series. I'm not saying that I might not write some one-shots to be included in the world, but the eight days of Christmas stories are most likely done (unless by some miracle inspiration hits next year).


End file.
